


Secret Santa is a Scam

by Lisamc21



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: A little bit of coming out story, Alternate Universe, Coworkers and crushes, Dual Point of View, First Kiss, Flirting through competition, Fluff and Humor, It really is a slow burn, M/M, Mutual Pining, Office Setting, Office pet peeves, Pre-Relationship, Romantic Gestures, Secret Santa, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28159230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisamc21/pseuds/Lisamc21
Summary: Patrick and David are coworkers at the headquarters for the chain of RAY's outdoor gear retail stores and have been pining over each other for months. When forced into an office round of secret Santa, Patrick and David draw each other and each consider using it as an opportunity to make their move.This fic will have a daily chapter posted through Christmas, corresponding with the date in the story (and an epilogue on Dec. 26).
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 156
Kudos: 301





	1. December 18

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing this as I post, which I've never done before. *stares wildly at the computer* Let's see how this goes, folks!

“But I couldn’t turn it off. The sweet mom cat was so close to giving birth. How could I miss it?” Jocelyn took another gulp of her coffee with a jerky hand.

Patrick picked up his own tea and took a drink as he tried to emote interest in Jocelyn’s detailed weekend summary. When he moved to put his tea back on the table, he extended his arm to drop it in front of the empty chair next to him. He kept his eyes on Jocelyn to not draw attention to his move, but no one would probably notice.

On the outside, he was simply chatting with a coworker first thing on a Monday morning. However, on the inside he was on step three of a detailed plan to sit next to David during their weekly staff meeting because if he didn’t get to sit next to David, he’d be internally moping the entire meeting. He didn’t need to get off his game at the start of the week, so really, his plan was to benefit the entire office so he could be the most productive colleague as possible.

Hmm, actually, that was a lie. Stevie would notice. Her preternatural observational skills made her an incredible store manager liaison and a terrifying roommate/best friend of the guy Patrick and been pining over all year. Good thing she hadn’t arrived yet either. Wait. What if she took the empty seat instead of David? She’d probably immediately catch on to how his tea sat a little too far from him and how his elbow extended over to the armrest of the empty chair and sit there just to watch him squirm.

“I stayed up all night Saturday with my eyes glued to that live cam.” Jocelyn blinked wildly at him. He’d bet money that she’d pass out at her desk by lunch.

“Did the cat end up giving birth?” She smiled at his question. He patted himself on the back for his multitasking ability to listen to Jocelyn and ask engaged questions while listening for the cadence of David’s quick steps rushing down the hallway to slide into their meeting with seconds to spare. As he did every week.

“Last night, finally. I thought Rollie was going to take my laptop away. I heated up frozen lasagna on meatloaf night because I was so distracted,” she said as she laughed wildly.

Patrick managed a chuckle as he did a casual sweep of the room, smiling and nodding at the other sleepy colleagues. Still no David. He turned back to Jocelyn and listened to her describe the newborn kittens. With thirty seconds until the meeting start time, Patrick heard the familiar steps and a rushed and grumpy “sorry.”

“Anyone sitting here?”

Patrick turned to look up at the familiar voice, heart racing too fast for a Monday morning with caffeine-free tea coursing through him. “Nope. Oops, sorry.” He grabbed his travel mug of tea and slid it next to the padfolio in front of him. He saw Stevie take the empty seat across from as she shot him a look that he couldn’t help but interpret as a _you’re welcome._

“Eight a.m. meetings on Monday mornings are a form of corporate torture,” David mumbled as he sat his to-go coffee down and pulled the well-worn, black leather journal from his bag. As he shifted around and settled in, Patrick got a whiff of David’s woodsy cologne. He wished he knew what kind it was so he could get a sample bottle. No, that would be weird. Too weird. Borderline creepy. It’s not like he’d spray it on his pillow or anything like some teenage girl who read in an article what cologne their favorite boy band singer wore. Definitely not.

“Maybe you should ask Santa to have Ray move the meetings to nine.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” David’s mouth twisted to the side, deepening his left dimple, as he glanced at Patrick.

“Good morning, team RAY headquarters!” Ray Butani said as he slid his chair close to the table at the head of the room.

“Good morning, Ray,” the dozen folks in the room replied in a well-practiced move. Everyone except David, of course.

“I hope you all had a lovely weekend. For today’s ice breaker, I’d like each of us to share our favorite winter treat on a cold day.” Ray’s black mustache danced with his smile, and he clapped his hands together on the table. Patrick’s eyes bounced between real-life Ray and the illustrated likeness of him on a tent as part of the RAY logo painted on the wall behind him. Now that he’d gotten to know Ray better, he knew how much Ray loved outdoor activities, but it took him months to shake the surprise that Ray had founded a successful outdoor gear store with multiple locations throughout Ontario. Patrick would’ve assumed Ray as more of a real estate agent or politician, but he certainly had the entrepreneurial spirit. “I’ll go first. I absolutely love gingerbread cookies. Especially ones decorated like little men.” He wiggled his fingers as he punctuate the words. “Delicious _and_ adorable.” He turned to his right. “Ronnie, your turn.”

Ronnie let out a deep sigh. She was the only one in the office who got away with being so blatantly annoyed by Ray’s cheer. She looked especially put-upon having to sit between Ray and Jocelyn. “Bourbon.” David snorted lightly next to him and Patrick caught Stevie’s eye.

“Lovely.” Ray’s smile didn’t falter as he shifted it to Jocelyn.

She sat down her nearly empty mug. “Oh, gosh, I love sugar cookies. I have this recipe from my mother’s old Betty Crocker cookbook that’s delicious. Rollie likes it when I make little trees and decorate them with lights and ornaments. Takes hours,” she said with a smile and tone that seemed partially fond and partially exasperated.

Patrick squirmed at everyone’s attention on him. He’d hate the group icebreakers if it wasn’t a pathetic way to get a new fact about David each week. “My mom makes this chocolate walnut fudge that’s incredible and—.” David made a happy hum sound, and Patrick lost his train of thought. He looked over at David, and his brain buffered for a moment at David’s full attention. He should be used to it by now. They’ve worked together for nearly a year, but the longer he worked with David and got to know him, the deeper his crush grew. The deeper his crush, the more of a bumbling dweeb he became sometimes. “And she always makes a huge batch so I can freeze some and enjoy it into the new year,” he finished lamely. He shifted his body to face David, and the others on his side of the long conference table.

David’s eyes shifted as though he were taking in all the eyes on him. For someone so gorgeous who dressed and acted in a way that commanded attention from everyone in a room, David seemed to often wilt under too much attention. “I, um, love hot chocolate.” His eyes shyly found Patrick’s, and he offered David an encouraging smile. “Marshmallows, whipped cream, peppermint sticks. Peppermint spoons are even better. A little bit of Bailey’s in hot chocolate while watching a movie.” He cut himself off on an inhale. “Yeah, hot chocolate.”

Patrick leaned over to David after Brooke finished hers. “I’ll save you some fudge to go with your hot chocolate.”

David’s eyes sparkled. They were the color of his mom’s fudge and the man even more delicious than the fudge. “Thank you.”

Those two words carried Patrick through the rest of the icebreaker and Ray updating everyone about the upcoming company Christmas party and the annual employee shopping morning. With how often he and David talked in and out of work, he should be more immune to those little moments by now, but he wasn’t. Far from it. Every time David grumbled and dropped into the chair across from Patrick’s desk to complain about Ray’s ridiculous merchandising ideas or Jocelyn’s attempts at gamifying HR trainings, his heart leapt in his throat. Whenever he and Stevie walked out of the office together at the end of the day and invited Patrick to join them for happy hour, he thought _this is the time. This is when I finally tell David how I feel._ He never did, though, and his crush had grown more consuming with each day. Especially the more David opened up to him and shared about his life. He’d ascended the first time David had texted him on a weekend to chat with no specific purpose. It deserved placement in the “lifetime milestones” section of his Facebook profile.

“Before we discuss our Valentine’s promotions, we’ve got one more holiday task on the agenda. Secret Santa!” Ray and Jocelyn both clapped. A pair of groans of suspiciously familiar groans were barely covered by the cheers. Patrick bit back a laugh. Maybe three groans. Ronnie didn’t look to pleased, either.

Ray reached under the table and pulled out his bicycle helmet. Painted electric orange with the RAY logo on it.

“Oh, God. He’s not.” David sucked in a breath as Ray dumped papers into the obviously well-worn helmet. “That’s nasty.”

“I’ll go over the rules since we have a couple of new team members who haven’t participated in this tradition yet. I’ll draw a name for everyone shortly and you are expected to keep that private. You’re welcome to reveal your identity, but you don’t have to. There’s a $50 limit, but don’t feel obligated to spend that much. Gestures work just as well as paid gifts. In fact, two years ago Jocelyn gifted me with a week of leftovers from her home-cooked dinners.” Ray smiled sweetly at Jocelyn, who waved a hand and blushed. “Her meatloaf is especially delicious.” Ray tapped against the bike helmet. “Any questions?” At the silence, he made a show of swirling the names. No one had questions, but the room erupted in excited chatter as Ray began walking around the room and drawing names for everyone, starting at the opposite side from Patrick and David.

Patrick felt David’s heat and smelled his cologne as he sensed David leaning toward him. “I don’t understand this whole scam.”

That startled a laugh out of Patrick. “Scam?”

David waved one of his ever-moving hands. “It’s bad enough trying to figure out and budget for the perfect gifts for loved ones, but now we’re expected to spend fifty bucks on a random coworker? I don’t even buy a Christmas gift for Stevie and we’ve been best friends for years.”

“I think Ray said you don’t have to buy anything, David.” Patrick stopped talking at the glare David leveled at him, made more ferocious with his thick eyebrows.

“No one actually does that. If I didn’t spend fifty bucks, I’d look like a cheapskate.” David shook his head as he took a drink of his coffee. “Scam,” he mumbled against the lid.

Ray approached them with a gigantic smile as he handed David a slip of paper. “Thanks,” David mumbled.

“Patrick, are you excited for your first year participating in RAY’s annual secret Santa tradition?”

Patrick bit back a laugh at the tic in David’s jaw, which made an appearance every time Ray pronounced the letters of the business name. “I am. I love secret Santa.”

“Traitor,” David mouthed at him.

He accepted the overly folded piece of paper and kept it in his cupped hand as he unfolded it. He heard David do the same and make a soft humming sound. He wanted to ask who David drew, but Patrick was nothing if not a rule follower. As he lifted the last fold, his breath hitched as he saw _Da_. Slowly, he peeled the rest back to reveal David’s name written in Ray’s scrunched handwriting.

“Who’d you get?” David whispered.

Patrick quickly folded the paper in half before looking at David. “I’m not going to violate the spirit of the game, David.”

David flared his nostrils and tugged his lips back. “You’re ridiculous.”

If he hadn’t drawn David, he’d have spilled the second the meeting ended and used the excuse of putting their brains together to come up with gifts for their recipients as an excuse to spend time with David. Now he had to come up with something good. Something to show David he really appreciated him and knew him well. That he paid attention to what he liked.

His gut twisted as he considered his options. He could get David a gift certificate to his favorite bakery down the street. David would like it and that would be easy and safe, but Patrick was tired of safe when it came to David. They’d been flirting constantly for ages with neither of them making a move. He couldn’t stay in limbo any longer. Maybe secret Santa was the push he needed to finally make his feelings known to David, and if David reciprocated them, they could finally be a couple. If David didn’t, then Patrick could start looking for a new job in Antarctica and fill out the paperwork to change his name.

# # #

David tried to focus on finishing the playbook for the Valentine’s Day displays, but his eyes kept wandering to the folded piece of paper sticking out of his journal.

Patrick.

What does one buy for the guy one’s been pining over since, _Hi, I’m Patrick, the new budget manager. It’s nice to meet you. You do the visual merchandising? That’s great!_? It’s like every piece of trivia he’d been meticulously collecting about Patrick the past eleven months disappeared like smoke. Wafting through his brain and right out his ears.

“Who’d you draw?” Stevie plucked the paper and unfolded it. She let out a long and low whistle. “This just got interesting.”

“Excuse you,” he said, swiveling to glare at her. “Did you not hear the rules?”

“Since when do you care about rules?” She rested her hip on the corner of his desk.

“Since I knew you’d give me shit.” Her responding grin had him crossing his arms over his chest. “Quid pro quo. Who’d you get?”

“You gotta stop watching _Silence of the Lambs._ ”

“I don’t have to do any such thing.”

“You get all cuddly and scared after it. Like a baby.” She twisted her nose and pinched her lips. “I got Brooke. I’ll get her a coffee shop gift card or something.” Stevie shrugged. “What are you going to do?”

“Our meeting ended less than an hour ago. I haven’t had time to mood board an appropriate gift to capture the correct sentiment, obviously.” He knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as her eyes lit up.

“Because you have to put a lot of thought into this one, huh? Need to nail that sentiment.”

“Do you have any visual merchandising needs or are you here to prevent me from doing my work?” He turned back to his monitor.

“You’re no fun. Gigi’s for lunch?”

“Sounds good. Now scoot.” He shoo’d her over his shoulder out of his office.

A half an hour later, he’d finished a draft of the playbook for the April displays. With an hour until an appropriate lunch time, he opened his journal and reviewed his to do list. Scanning the orderly bullet points, he dismissed ones where he still needed something from someone else to proceed and the ones involving talking to Ray or Jocelyn because he wasn’t in the headspace for that on a Monday. One item jumped out at him. _Talk to Patrick about budget for summer displays._

He was on his feet and striding toward Patrick’s office before he’d fully formed a thought. He lightly rapped his knuckles against the doorframe. “Got a minute?”

Patrick looked up from his monitor and a smile bloomed on his face. David loved that smile. It was his fourth favorite, behind the smile he forced when trying not to laugh at David being absurd, the polite and exasperated one when he listened to David’s rants about outdoor gear and activities and *shudders* _mountaineering shoes_ , and his perennial favorite, the easy, wide smile Patrick used when they spent time together outside of work. The first time Patrick joined he and Stevie for happy hour? Patrick’s smile as he approached their table could’ve lit up a city block. How could he not have a crush on such a friendly, sweet, adorable, patient, kind, funny, teasin—

“Always. What’s up?” He gestured to the chair sat across his desk. David made himself comfortable, as he did at least once—okay, okay, at least thrice—daily.

David crossed one leg over the other and carefully draped his hands on his knee. His silver rings reflected the horrific fluorescents in Patrick’s under-decorated office. All these months later, it still look like Patrick had arrived only last week. Few personal touches, one photo of his parents, and he used the office supplies provided by the company. Ew. After David’s first day at RAY’s, he’d hit Amazon to order his own matching, sleek set of matte black desk accessories. In comparison, David’s office was distinctly him and full of personality.

“How was your weekend?”

Patrick huffed out a startled laugh and it smoothed David’s evergreen Monday stress better than steam did to wrinkles in linen pants. “Not bad. Kind of boring. How about you?”

David opened his mouth to press for more details, any details, really. Sure, they’d texted a little bit, but David wanted to know what Patrick watched before he fell asleep and the kind of tea he had with breakfast. Did he drink green tea on weekend mornings too or was that just weekdays? “Okay. I slept eleven hours on Saturday night, so I’d call that a win.” Tylenol PM was a gift.

“Sounds thrilling.”

“It was. The back pain I woke with from being horizontal for so long added a spicy finish to the weekend.” Patrick’s cheeks flushed a little and it was so damn cute. David felt his own cheeks burn a little hotter at the implication of the word horizontal in Patrick’s presence. Was Patrick traveling down the same line of thought? David retrieved his hands from flying around. “Anyway, in addition to saying hello,” and wanting to steal some of Patrick’s default cheerfulness to soothe his Monday grumps, “I wanted to talk to you about official business.”

Patrick straightened his shoulders and clapped his hands together. “Oh? Need me to help assemble a display tester again?”

No, but he wished that’s what it was because seeing Patrick’s forearms in action were a sight to behold. “No, but I’ll be sure to come back when I need you for that again,” he managed in a tone he hoped sounded casual and not at all plotting. “Actually, it’s about the budget for the summer displays. Have you had a chance to look at my request yet? I’d like to get going on ordering some supplies before we close after Christmas.” He stopped talking when Patrick grimaced and his shoulders curved forward and lifted. Uh oh, he didn’t like that. “Patrick? What?”

“David, I’m sorry, but we can’t afford your proposal.”

David blinked as his brain buffered. “What do you mean?” He’d never been denied his budget request in the nearly two years he’d worked at RAY’s. Surely he’d heard Patrick wrong.

“We don’t have the money for your full request. I haven’t been able to reply to proposals yet, but things are tight this year with the remodel on the Elmdale location and a few other things.”

David planted both feet on the ground and leaned on his thighs. “But the merchandising is important to sales. We need the sales to have money for the remodel!” He couldn’t stop the shrillness to his voice, but he almost felt bad about it when he caught regret in Patrick’s eyes.

“I know, but my hands are tied. I have to work within the restraints Ray has given me and I have to prioritize expenses.”

Didn’t their friendship count for anything? Surely he should get special treatment. Patrick should prioritize David’s requests. David pressed his fingernails into the side of his thigh. No, that was his old way, his old expectations, before his family lost their money. He couldn’t let himself fall down that practiced path again, especially not with Patrick. He’d worked so hard to be a more reasonable person. David cleared his throat. “Are you determining the priorities?”

Patrick slid his hands off the desk. “I have to submit my recommendations to Ray before the Christmas break.”

He had time to convince Patrick he was wrong. “Okay.”

“Okay? That’s it?”

“No, that’s not it, but that’s all I have right now. Thank you for your time,” David said formally as he stood.

“Do you have lunch plans?” Patrick said in a rush.

David slowly turned back to Patrick. “Stevie and I are going to Gigi’s. I’ll let you buy me lunch for delivering such a professional blow on a Monday morning.”

Patrick failed at hiding his grin behind the back of his hand. “Okay, David.”


	2. December 19

Patrick pushed his cart toward the aisle through the cookware. He’d been toying with the idea of getting a new camping stove for a while, and it was hard to pass that up on the day RAY employees got a fifty percent discount on all merchandise. It would be all too easy to blow his savings on fully outfitting his recreation gear, but he needed to stick to the budget he’d set for Christmas gifts. Except for a new tent and sleeping bag. Those were necessary purchases.

As he moved to turn the corner into the next aisle, he spotted a familiar swoop of hair a couple of rows over. He’d get the camping stove next year. Patrick forced himself to push the cart at a normal pace instead of rushing over like he was competing in a supermarket game show and David was the last item he needed to secure the win.

“You know, David, I thought I knew you pretty well, but you surprise me every day.” Keeping his expression pleasant and neutral, Patrick waited for David to look up at him from studying the row of snacks with the same focus he had when designing a display. He expected a loud huff or an eye roll, but he hadn’t even considered David’s initial microexpressions. The flash of truth before his feigned annoyance slid into place. Happiness. The corner’s of David’s mouth turned up deeply, but it disappeared so fast Patrick almost didn’t believe he’d seen it. But he had. David heard his voice and his first reaction was a smile.

David’s kissable lips shifted into a familiar smirk that Patrick could draw from memory. He watched David roll his shoulders and brace for impact. “If you’re about to make fun of this sweatshirt, I’ll have you know it’s KTZ and very fashionable.”

Now that David mentioned the white and black sweatshirt with dizzying swirls and blocks and angles, it was hard to take his eyes off of it. “I wasn’t thinking about your sweatshirt, and I don’t know what KTZ means.” He tilted his head. “You know, it reminds me of something I drew for my 2D drawing class in college.”

David’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “I will not dignify that with a response.”

“But you just responded.”

There came the labored sigh. David gave an annoyed shake of his head. “Out with it.”

For a moment, Patrick hesitated in pulling the trigger on the teasing quip he already had locked, loaded, and aimed at David, but for as often as they shared moments of sincerity in the past couple of months, teasing was was the backbone of their relationship. Friendship. Want-to-be-more-than-friends ship. Their easy and harmless back-and-forth was what had officially moved David from the status of _Hot Guy at my New Office_ to _Oh, Shit, I Actually Like This Guy and I’m so Screwed_.

Patrick had to blink a couple times to re-focus on his mission and not get distracted by the slight arch of David’s eyebrows or the way that super weird sweater made his shoulders look broader or the fact that David was still talking to him after he had to admit yesterday there wasn’t budget for his full summer merchandising vision. “I was hoping you could teach me how to be a doomsday prepper.”

David gawked at him. “A dooms-whatter? What are you talking about?”

Patrick pointedly looked down at the shopping basket filled with chocolate snack bars that David clutched like _Goonie’s_ treasure. “Are you stockpiling for the apocalypse?”

David looked down and he pulled one hand from the handle and placed it on his hip. “Okay, first of all, there is _nothing_ wrong with ensuring one has access to chocolate at any time one needs. Including the end of days.”

“That is important for _one_ to do, yes.” David narrowed his eyes and Patrick’s mouth twitched.

“Second of all, what the hell else am I supposed to buy at a- a- a _RAY’s_ store with our annual employee credit?” David looked pained saying Ray’s business name aloud.

“Still hurts to say after all these years?”

David glanced around them, then took a step toward Patrick and lowered his voice. “I mean, come on. Doesn’t he realize you only put the letters in all caps and pronounce them if they are an actual acronym? It’s just his name. It’s _literally_ just his name. At least REI stands for something! But RAY? I can’t. I just can’t!”

Patrick reached out and grabbed David’s wrist before his vocal hand made contact with a tower of canned spaghetti. David sucked in a breath. Or maybe it was Patrick. Patrick’s fingers burned. “Sorry, but you almost.” He gestured to the stack of cans.

“Th-“ David cleared his throat. “Thanks.”

Patrick shoved his hands in his pockets. “I thought RAY stood for Really Amazing Yodeler.” David rolled his eyes. “Rustic Abandoned Yurts.” Mouth twitch. “Remarkably Athletic Yachter.”

“Stop!” David’s face scrunched together in laughter. “Please, just stop.”

Patrick grinned. “Anyway, there are so many things you could do with your employee credit, David. A hundred dollars with the hefty discount we get this morning could get you a pair of hiking boots or a decent tent.” Patrick tried to look thoughtful. “You know, you could even get a full hiking outfit.” Patrick held back laughter as David physically recoiled.

“A hiking outfit? I’m terrified to think what that would be.”

“Want help picking something out? I may not know KTZ, but I know RAY’s clothes pretty well.”

“Unfortunately, so do I. You do recall I merchandise everything in the stores?”

“I do recall that, yes.” Patrick bit on his bottom lip to contain his glee. “But, and stop me if I’m over-assuming here, you’ve never actually _used_ the clothes you merchandise. Out in the wild.”

David shivered. Literally shivered. “God, no. Could you imagine this in those pants that zip off at the knee?” He wiggled and waved a hand down his body.

He couldn’t, but now he desperately wanted to see it. “You don’t try on the clothes you’re merchandising?”

“Why would I when I have you?” David batted his eyelashes. “Anyway, you think the people who do merchandising for Baby GAP try to squeeze into the onesies?”

Patrick’s mind wandered to the last time he’d tried on a few things for David. David sitting at Patrick’s office guest chair and going on about how he couldn’t finish his mood board for the spring displays because he couldn’t envision how the new line of spring jackets moved. That he needed to _understand_ the movement to _sell_ it. Or something. Of course Patrick had immediately offered to help David with his work as any good colleague would. The fact that it happened after everyone else had gone home for the day with David’s desk whiskey spurring on Patrick’s increasingly silly strutting around the office made it one of Patrick’s favorite memories. It didn’t hurt that their texting had grown more frequent and regular after that.

“I could be bribed to model again.” Patrick winked and his stomach did a little flip when David tucked a smile to the side of his mouth and one of his dimples deepened. “Are you all done?” Patrick gestured toward the registers. If they checked out at the same time, maybe they could grab coffee before heading back to the office.

“I believe so. I think I’ve grabbed enough of these to use up the credit with our discount. Math isn’t my strong suit, but I’ve done this a couple of years now.”

“Did you leave any for anyone else?” Patrick fell in line with David as they walked to the front of the store.

David shot him a glare. “Of course, I did. I checked with Jake, and he looked at the inventory. I’m not a monster, Patrick.” Patrick shook his head and chuckled as he got in line behind David.

“Wow, that’s a lot of trail bars. Giving them away as gifts or donating them to a food bank or something?”

Patrick squeezed his eyes closed and pressed his lips together at the familiar voice. He’d been so focused on hoping to run into David during their allotted shopping window, he hadn’t considered who else he might encounter. As long as Ken didn’t get awkward or anything, it would be fine. He could only imagine the hell of a show likely happening on David’s face.

“Yes. I’m donating to a place called Stevie’s Pantry. Ever heard of it?”

A sharp and loud snort escaped Patrick. David looked over his shoulder and flashed a smirk.

“Patrick! Hey! I didn’t see you there.” Ken shifted to the side at the counter, standing more in Patrick’s line of sight.

Shit. “Hey, Ken. How are you?”

“Good. Great to see you. How have you been?” Ken’s wide smile creased the skin at the corners of his eyes. Patrick felt awkward as the subject of Ken’s attention. Ken should be paying attention to David as the customer at the counter, not him. His high school and college years of customer service work forever molded his expectations in retail experiences. He supposed it wasn’t so bad since it was employee hour, but still. How could anyone look at Patrick when David was literally right there? David shifted to the side and angled himself so his hip leaned against the counter and his body angled toward Patrick. Sighing inwardly, Patrick walked up to the counter to join them.

“Good, thanks.” He offered a closed-mouth smile to Ken.

“We’ve missed you at Thursday trivia.”

“Yeah, sorry. I’ve been busy on Thursdays.” Patrick chanced a look at David and saw him furrow his brows as he pulled out his debit card. He’d only gone to trivia a handful of times and never with any regularity, but when David had started inviting Patrick to join him and Stevie at Thirsty Thursday’s, he hadn’t given trivia another thought. It wasn’t that he was angling for something better and had ditched his friends to hang out with his crush. Hanging out with David and Stevie felt more like hanging out with his friends than the handful of acquaintances he knew at trivia.

Ken started bagging the bars. “That’s a great sleeping bag you chose.” He nodded at Patrick’s cart filled with goodies. “Do you do a lot of winter camping?”

“I do a fair amount. My current one has a tear in it so it was time to replace it.”

“Winter camping?” David looked like he’d just been told he’d have to wear cargo overalls and a Carhartt jacket the rest of his life.

“Yes, David, it’s an activity where people go and sleep in tents during the winter.”

“I- I have so many questions. How do you stay warm? How do you not freeze to death when you have to go to the bathroom? Wouldn’t predators be able to sense your body heat and kill you?” David’s voice grew increasingly shrill with each question, and Patrick adored it.

“The tent and sleeping bag are really important. They’re rated for certain temperatures,” Ken offered as David’s nostril’s flared.

David slid his card back in his pocket. “I can’t believe you willingly torture yourself like that. Any other masochistic tendencies I should know about?”

Patrick willed his body to play it cool, but his alabaster skin gave him away every time. Judging by the slight twitch in David’s mouth, that’s what he’d been aiming for. _Wouldn’t you like to know_ , was what he _wanted_ to say, but that kind of bold flirting required a dark bar and a drink or two. Or at least not in the RAY flagship store in front of Ken. “I wake up before eight on weekends.” It was a bit flirty, but still pretty safe.

“Wow. _Wow._ Just when you think you know someone.” David picked up his bags of chocolate.

Patrick grinned up at him and was about to offer to walk back with him after Ken rang him up, but Ken started talking. “Where do you usually camp? I like the Elm Valley trail.”

Patrick tore his attention from David and looked at Ken as he began to unload his cart onto the counter. “That’s a good one. I prefer Pine Ridge.”

“Maybe we could check out Pine Ridge sometime.” Ken’s smile was very clearly flirty. The same one he’d used several times at trivia. Before Patrick could politely deflect, he noticed David stiffen beside him.

“I’m gonna go. See you back at the office,” David said, offering a closed-mouth smile. He looked between Patrick and Ken for a moment. “Thanks,” he said to Ken.

“Happy holidays,” Ken said to David cheerfully.

“You too.” With one last unreadable look at Patrick, David turned and strode out.

Patrick let out a sigh and turned back to Ken. He should like Ken, like, _like-like_ Ken. On paper, they made a lot of sense. They both enjoyed outdoor activities and their trivia knowledge complemented each other. Ken was nice and asked thoughtful questions the few times they’d been at trivia the same time, but Patrick didn’t get that feeling. That twist in the gut that made him want to pop an antacid and drink gingerale or listen to love songs while traipsing in a meadow of blooming wildflowers. Basically how he felt around David all the time.

Who was he to not fall at his feet over a nice and cute guy flirting with him so openly? Sure, Ken had come on a little strong at trivia, but he supposed it was nice to feel wanted. Was he a jerk for not taking him up on it? If he didn’t have feelings for David, he’d probably say yes to Ken but not be excited about it. He’d probably spend every day leading up to their date daydreaming about how to get out of it and playing fast and loose with expired food to hope for food poisoning so he wouldn’t have to lie when canceling it.

He’d spent a lot of time feeling guilty about not having any romantic interest in Ken. Patrick wasn’t a model or a rich guy or someone who had his pick of eligible bachelor’s. He was a normal, kind of boring guy who should be grateful for any nice people who liked him. But the months he’d spent in therapy after coming out last year had helped him deal with that guilt. The same guilt that had kept him with Rachel far longer than he should have. The feeling that if it made sense on paper, it should make sense in action. Now he understood it didn’t always work out that way.

A part of Patrick wanted to like Ken. It seemed like dating Ken might be easy. They had so much in common and it was easy to imaging the activities they could do together, but Patrick didn’t want _easy_. He wanted to be pushed and challenged, kept on his toes, learn new things, be delighted and surprised.

Maybe he was overthinking it. What if Ken was simply trying to make a friend? Dating as a gay man was so much more complicated than he’d realized. It was impossible for him to differentiate when people wanted to be friends or something more.

“Yeah, maybe. Work is pretty intense right now though.” It was a copout, and he knew it. He should directly ask Ken if he was asking as friends or something more so he could respond appropriately, but he was far from competent in certain areas, especially when it came to anything in the realm of emotions.

Ken’s smile dimmed and he nodded slowly. “Totally understand. If you ever want to, let me know. You know where to find me.”

“Thanks, Ken.” Patrick knew he wouldn’t.

# # #

David managed to get to his office without encountering another coworker, thank god. He stowed his chocolate under his drafting table and grabbed his mug. He needed a strong coffee to shake the dark cloud that had followed him to the office from RAY’s like a horrific retail-based weather event hell bent on ruining his day. A weather event in a snug polo and black plastic glasses.

Grabbing the bag of premium coffee he kept hidden in his desk, he hurried to the kitchen. The reusable K-cup he’d guilted people into using wasn’t on the little shelf he’d brought in for it. Sonofabitch. He popped open the Keurig’s K-cup holder, and sure enough, the filled K-cup was still sitting in the machine. He worked with a hoard of heathens.

David grumbled to himself as he cleaned up after one of his rude as hell coworkers. Once the K-cup was cleaned to his standards and filled with his favorite Sumatran blend, he exhaled and focused on the delicious coffee that would soon be in his belly. The machine beeped at him when he pressed the start button. Goddamit! Not enough water? David grit his teeth and took the water container over to the water cooler to refill it. He needed to talk to Ray about cracking down on office etiquette. The machine whirred and growled instead of filling the pitcher, and the red _replace jug_ light taunted him. “Motherfucker!” He slammed the Keurig water pitcher on the counter and replaced the jug. He hated people. So fucking much. By the time his coffee began brewing, his sour mood had created too large a debt for any coffee to pay off.

Was Patrick dating that guy? Or had they dated? There was something there. Surely he’d know if Patrick was dating someone. With how often they talked and hung out, a romantic partner would come up in at least run-downs of each other’s weekends. If it didn’t, Patrick would have to actively avoid mentioning someone he was dating, which didn’t seem like something he would do. It was pretty damn clear the guy with the glasses wanted there to be something between them, though. Patrick hadn’t seemed super interested, but was that just David’s wishful thinking? Then again, Patrick _was_ going to Thirsty Thursdays with him and Stevie instead of whatever trivia thing the guy mentioned. That had to mean something, right? He was so confused.

Part of David wanted to let whatever could possibly be happening between them unfold naturally. His former therapist would probably say that was his anxiety talking while pointing out David’s definition of “naturally” meant “glacially” and “without any real risk.” No risk, no reward. Ew. His inner monologue was starting to sound like the ridiculous motivational posters Ray loved.

David cleaned the K-cup because he’s not a monster, picked up his mug and bag of coffee, and turned to head back to his office. If he played his cards right, he might be able to go an hour before he had to talk to another human. Maybe he’d make a few helpful etiquette signs for the shared kitchen before he jumped into a project.

“Good morning, David! Ooh, what’s that?” Jocelyn’s smile was almost as loud as her snowflake turtleneck and candy cane striped cardigan. She pointed to the bag of coffee tucked under his elbow.

“Hello, Jocelyn. It’s coffee.”

“Sneaking coffee out of the kitchen, huh?” She wagged a finger at him.

“Um, actually, no? I brought this coffee. From home.”

Her smile didn’t waver. “Can I try some? The stuff we have here is awful.”

He flared his nostrils and reluctantly handed it over. It didn’t seem like a good idea to say no to the HR director.

“I’ll bring it back when I’m done,” she said and winked.

“O-okay, thanks.” A nice person would say _don’t worry about it. Leave it out for everyone._ But David wasn’t a nice person. Where would that end, anyway? His bag would be gone by the end of the week, and he’d have to buy a new one. Then would he go back to hiding it and risk getting caught again? Or would he forever have to buy good coffee for everyone? Or set up some sort of coffee collection and have to coordinate collecting money and settling debates over the best blend.

By the time he reached his office again, David’s anxiety burst through his consciousness like the Kool-Aid Man, yelling _oh, yeah!_ Before sitting at his desk, he grabbed a pack of his favorite hand lettering pens and a few notecards off to make a couple of signs for the kitchen. Putting pen to paper always helped clear his mind, which was exactly what he needed before he started on his budget presentation for Patrick.

He walked over to his desk and spotted a perfectly wrapped square box in front of his keyboard. The wrapping paper was a glossy white with silver snowflakes and a velvet red ribbon tied in a bow. Whoever had wrapped that did an impressive job. Clean edges, hidden tape, perfectly even flaps. He almost didn’t want to mess it up. Almost.

David snapped a couple photos of the gift in case he wanted to Instagram it later, then carefully untied the bow and slid his finger along the taped flaps. He pulled a white box out of the paper. After carefully folding the wrapping paper, he lifted the top of the box and pulled out the red tissue paper to reveal a white coffee mug with a little box inside. A laugh escaped when he looked at the mug. White with subtle pale silver snowflakes all around with _Bah humbug_ written in a lovely script and a red sprig of holly below it. It was as close to his aesthetic as tacky Christmas shit could get. It was kind of perfect, actually.

He pulled the box out of the mug and smiled. A hot cocoa bomb? He wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but he was always game for hot chocolate. Underneath the box sat an airplane bottle of Bailey’s. Adorable. Kudos to whoever had listened to him at the staff meeting on Monday.

The gift cheered David up enough to make the kitchen signs then move on to preparing for a meeting with Patrick. He knew his ideas for the summer displays would help them meet their sales goals, and he needed to make them happen. Patrick just didn’t understand how important it was, but Patrick was a logical guy and David could use logic. He opened Gmail and began typing a message.

_Patrick,_

_I’d like to talk with you further about the budget for the summer displays. According to your calendar, you’re free at 11 tomorrow. Could we meet? If that works for you, I’ve included a calendar invite below and will book the conference room._

_Thank you._

_DR_

Perfect. Professional and assertive. He could play the game.

# # #

Patrick popped open a beer and looked at David’s email for the twentieth time that day, at least. A formal calendar invite and the conference room instead of one of their offices? He wasn’t sure if he should be impressed or terrified. Probably both. It was often both with David.

His gut churned as he thought about the result of tomorrow’s meeting. There was no way he could make David’s full request happen, and he didn’t want to have to disappoint David again. Trying to woo David with secret Santa gifts while simultaneously crushing his professional vision sent a bit of a mixed message.

He’d been so busy all day, he hadn’t had a chance to stop in David’s office and try to gauge what he thought of the mug and cocoa bomb. Giving David anything Christmas related was a risk, but he hoped the sweet and boozy additions eased any sting. And it bought him some time to try to figure out something more meaningful to give him.

Patrick glanced over at his guitar. He could record a rendition of Mariah’s _All I Want for Christmas is You_ , but that seemed a little bold. He could show David he listened to him by buying something from one of his favorite designers, but that would blow the secret Santa budget out of the water. If all worked out as he hoped, maybe that’s what he could do next year or for David’s birthday.

He launched Instagram to see if David had posted anything. Patrick was so pathetic. The first bubble in his story queue was David’s, of course. The only person he followed whose story he always watched. Well, and Stevie, in case she posted about David. So pathetic.

The first story post was a photo of the still-wrapped gift with a few applause stickers around it. Patrick let out a breath. The ridiculous number of gift wrapping YouTube tutorials he’d watched and practice runs had paid off. The second post was a video of the chocolate ball with peppermint chunks melting under hot milk David poured over it, revealing mini marshmallows and a pile of hot cocoa powder. It looked kind of delicious, actually. The third post was a boomerang of David adding the Bailey’s. He took a screenshot of the fourth story post. A selfie of David taking a drink from the mug. One of his thick eyebrows arched and the _bah humbug_ perfectly positioned in the center frame. He wanted to make it David’s contact photo in his phone, but he didn’t want to have to explain to David why he’d taken that screenshot when David texted memes to him from across the table at a Thirsty Thursday.

He opened their Instagram DM conversation.

_Patrick: That looks yummy_

_David: It is! I’ve already gone on Etsy to buy more of them. I think I have a new favorite thing_

_Patrick: Where’d you get the mug?_

_David: Secret Santa gift at work. Found it on my desk today_

_Patrick: Haha that’s awesome_

_David: For being Christmas kitsch, I don’t actually hate it_

Patrick grinned at his phone. That’s exactly what he’d hoped for.

_Patrick: It suits you. You’re a grinch in designer sweaters_

_David: Rude!_

_Patrick: But am I wrong?_

_David: No [middle finger emoji]_

_Patrick: Sounds like your secret Santa did a good job. Think it was Stevie?_

_David: Nah, she’d have gotten me a reindeer antler headband or something awful_

_Patrick: lol good call_

_David: You gotten a gift yet?_

_Patrick: Nope, but I’m not worried about it_

_David: Still not going to tell me who you drew?_

_Patrick: Obviously not_

_David: you suck_

_Patrick: [shrug emoji] You judge my ability to keep secrets now, but just wait until you come begging me to help you hide a body_

_David: I… have so many questions_


	3. December 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the incredibly kind comments so far!! I swear I have PBrew heart eyes over here <3

Patrick paused outside the door to the conference room and looked at David sitting with his back to him at the midpoint of the table. Ray’s face smiled at him with vacant eyes from the PowerPoint slide on the screen. He smiled at David’s sweater choice. It was one of Patrick’s favorites. A black one solid at the shoulders with thin horizontal stripes from the pecs down. David’s chest looked good in everything, but especially that sweater. He walked into the room before David caught him staring.

“Good morning, Patrick.” David sat with his back straight and shoulders squared.

“Hi, David. A PowerPoint, huh?” Patrick sat his padfolio and mug of tea on the table, then sat down across from David.

“Yes, I know how to use Microsoft Office,” David said tersely.

Shit. That wasn’t a good start. “No, no. Of course you do. I just wasn’t expecting a presentation, but this is great. Really.” Patrick hoped David could pick up on his sincerity. He flipped open his padfolio and picked up his pen. David was taking this seriously and so would he, even though his hand itched to doodle their initials in hearts all over the page.

“There’s pastries in the box. Please, help yourself.” David gestured to a pink box and short stack of napkins sitting between them.

“Pastries and PowerPoint. Best meeting of the week so far.” Patrick lifted the lid to find his favorite muffins from the nearby bakery. He looked up at David and smiled. “Poppyseed almond?”

“Of course,” David said nonchalantly, but the twitch in his lips gave away how pleased he was by Patrick’s response.

“Thank you.” He grabbed one of the napkins and placed a muffin on it. He popped a piece of the top in his mouth and waited for David to speak.

“I appreciate your time this morning. I wanted to talk with you further about the my budget request, and I’d like to share my vision for the summer merchandising. But first I’d like to provide some context about the importance of visual merchandising to retail strategy.” David clicked to a new slide. “Sixty-seven percent of people say they’re visual learners, and visuals increase message retention by forty-two percent.” Patrick swooned a little at the small citations at the bottom of the slide.

David continued going through slides in a voice that was oddly formal. “It’s important to create a visually engaging display that highlights our products and shows how they can be used. But more than that, visual merchandising helps sell an ideal or a feeling to our customers and relies heavily on psychology.” He clicked to a new slide that showed sales from the past several summer seasons. “With summer being our biggest sales season of the year, the way we merchandise our products is even more critical.” David clicked to the next slide and continued talking about the importance of visual merchandising and his specific ideas for the summer displays.

It was cute watching David go through his presentation, which was probably condescending as hell. It’s just, David didn’t outwardly engage in traditional business things very often. He was incredible at his job, which gave him leeway in being a little prickly during meetings and doing more things analog than digital. The store managers raved about David’s displays, and Ray adored him despite his allergy to anything related to outdoor recreation. Seeing David go through a slide deck with the right amount of animations and using the company template (which even Patrick could admit was horribly tacky with Ray’s face appearing 87% too often) was seriously doing something for him. Who knew he had a PowerPoint kink, but when it came to David, he figured he had infinite undiscovered kinks.

David’s ideas were fantastic. As a heavy user of RAY’s products, Patrick was already half sold on the summer merchandise just from David’s sketches. He wanted nothing more than to grab a blank check and let David do whatever he wanted, but he couldn’t.

When he finished, David placed the clicker on the table and clasped his hands. Patrick pulled his attention from David’s hands and looked at the worn journal next to him with the ribbon was near the bottom. “I recognize you have difficult decisions and have to juggle a variety of priorities, however, I hope you can see how merchandising should be a top priority. Particularly for the summer season.”

Would it be weird to applaud? Yeah, that would be weird. He slid his fingers under his thighs to stop himself. “Wow, David. That was impressive.”

David preened, which broke Patrick’s heart a little because he had to break David’s heart a little. “Thank you.”

“I appreciate having a better understanding of the role of your work in the overall retail strategy, and your plans for summer are impressive. I’d buy everything.”

David slid a smile to the side of his mouth, and Patrick wanted to stop there so the smile would stay. Couldn’t David have waited until after their Christmas break before asking about the budget? He’d have preferred to have this conversation once they were a couple so he could be sure to vigorously and thoroughly apologize in several office inappropriate ways. This thing between them still felt tenuous and fragile, and he didn’t need the pressure of work causing any structural damage.

He scrambled for the right words to tell David his hands were tied, but not for David’s lack of trying. Patrick’s personal feelings aside, David made strong points and he was right, he deserved his full budget because his work was important to their revenue. It’s just that Jocelyn also needed money for the professional development she needed to stay up with changing HR laws. Ray needed money for the overdue remodel of the flagship store. Ronnie needed money for the expansion to offer RAY excursions, which was projected to be a major money-maker.

David’s small smile slid away. “But.”

Patrick let out a long breath. “But, there isn’t enough in the budget for me to approve your full request. I can only approve sixty percent of it at this time. Things might change in a few months, but that’s all I can do right now.”

“In a few months, the merchandising will be done. I start now so I can source all the materials, build the elements, test it, design the playbook, distribute to the stores. It takes _months_ for each season.” Usually Patrick loved watching David’s hands accentuate his words, but watching them wave in response to David being upset with Patrick left him queasy.

“I’m really sorry, David. There are a couple of major unexpected expenses this year, and I can’t approve your full request.” The words physically pained him to say. He wanted to give David everything and then some. He wanted David to realize his full vision, and he wanted to walk through the RAY stores and see it come to life. Walk through a physical manifestation of David’s brain and witness how people responded to it.

David crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you even trying to find a way or are you dismissing this because it’s the artsy part of the business? If you want more numbers, I can get you more numbers.”

Is that what he thought? Didn’t he know how brilliant Patrick found him? “David, no. I completely respect what you’re doing, but I need you to respect my job and that I have to work within firm constraints. I need money to give money.”

“This will make us money!” David gestured to the screen.

“I know, but not yet. It’s a gamble.” As soon as he said the words, he regretted them.

Any hint of David’s usual expressiveness disappeared as he shut down. “Everything in retail is a gamble, but this is a safe bet.” He stood and grabbed the pink box. “I have to go. I have a summer display to start from scratch. Thank you for your time.” David was out the door before Patrick could screw up further.

He dropped his head in his hands. Any chance of wooing David this week was out the window.

“Hello, Patrick! Are you meditating? I keep meaning to get into meditation. Maybe we can set up some times for office meditations. What do you think?”

Patrick looked up at Ray. “Sorry, Ray. Not meditating. Good idea though.” He offered a small, closed-mouth smile and walked back to his office with his tail between his legs.

# # #

“And then he said my livelihood is a gamble. Can you believe that?” David shoved his spoon in the ice cream pint.

“He said that? I have a hard time picturing him saying that.” Stevie shoved her spoon in his pint.

“Excuse you! You have your own.” He shifted the ice cream out of her reach.

Stevie shrugged. “Yeah, but it tastes better when I’m stealing from you.”

“Menace,” he hissed. “And, okay, he basically said merchandising is a gamble for sales revenue.”

“Because it is, you idiot.”

“Fine, it is, but I don’t need him using that against me.” He shoved a heaping spoonful of mocha almond fudge goodness in his mouth.

“You want Patrick to lie and blow smoke up your ass? Because I’m pretty sure one of the reasons you’re so hot for Mr. Button-Up is because he tells it like it is and doesn’t take your shit.”

David opened his mouth and closed it. She was right. He trusted Patrick, which was nearly impossible for him to do with virtually everyone. Patrick was always honest, if a bit biting. David always knew where he stood with Patrick. Maybe that’s why, deep down, he wasn’t _really_ more upset about the budget situation. He was annoyed and frustrated, but he wasn’t truly angry. It wasn’t a betrayal.

So, maybe David wasn’t the best at compromise. He knew Patrick didn’t have a lot of options, and he was probably just torturing Patrick by pushing back so much, but he had to try. Patrick had a job to do and so did David. He believed in his vision and knew what would boost sales. It was worth fighting for, but so was Patrick, and he couldn’t risk doing any permanent damage to the embers flickering between them.

“See?”

“No. I like him because his ass looks great in his jeans,” he mumbled.

“He’s so gone for you, he’d probably bankrupt the company to give you what you wanted.” She tilted her head and looked up at the ceiling. “Actually, I take that back He wouldn’t do that because it would mean you’d end up unemployed and he’d never do that to you.” She grinned at him as she took another scoop of his ice cream. “Whenever he stops by my desk to talk about budget for the stores, he always works you into the conversation.”

“He’s not so gone for me. Shut up.” Though, the thought of Patrick finding ways to mention him when he and Stevie talked in the office sent a thrill through him.

“You’re such a dumbass. I don’t have the energy to pump you up over this again.”

He leveled a glare at her. “You’re right. How dare I be human with self-doubt and anxiety and worry and the ability to imagine repercussions of my actions?” It’s like Stevie expected him to be some sort of robot made of boldness and courage.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re so dramatic. Did you figure out what to do for secret Santa yet?”

“No. Any ideas?”

“I’m not the one who wants in his pants. This one’s all you.” Stevie stood. “I’m going to go take a bath.”

“Enjoy masturbating,” he yelled after her, laughing as she flipped him off.

David shifted to lay back on the couch. As he stared at the tacky popcorn ceiling, he tried to think of some sort of gift for Patrick. Something that showed how important Patrick was to him and how well he knew the man who’d been occupying his thoughts and time for much of the year. Something special. Maybe a gesture that said he wanted them to be more to each other? Every time David tried to come up with an idea, his mind went unnervingly quiet. He hoped that wasn’t a bad omen or something.

He returned their ice cream pints to the freezer and settled on the couch. He launched the Etsy app and spent the rest of the evening hunting for the perfect gift for Patrick. His carefully curated recommendations were going to be fucked and filled with sportsball shit, but it was worth it if he could find a unicorn gift for the man who deserved the world yet asked for nothing.

  


# # #

  


Patrick put away his leftovers and began cleaning his kitchen. He bopped around the space with a rag in one hand and bottle of cleaner in the other as he sang along to the Christmas music blaring from his iPhone. If he got the courage to tell David how he felt, this time next week he could be cooking dinner for David. Dig out his power outage candles and use the nice dishes his mom had insisted he take with him the last time he’d moved away. Maybe even start a shared Pinterest board with David to track recipes he’d like.

_Okay, Brewer, slow down. You haven’t even told the guy you like him. Hell, or even kissed him yet._

It was virtually impossible to not get ahead of himself because of how _easy_ it was to imagine being with David. He considered himself a friendly guy who could get along with anyone. Well, anyone except Ronnie, but that wasn’t for his lack of trying. There was just something about being around David. Picturing a future with David didn’t stretch his imagination like it had in past relationships. With Rachel, most of the future he had imagined was a mix of the daydreams she’d shared with him and what he’d pulled from movies. Sort of like he’d pasted his and Rachel’s faces over other people’s lives when he thought about the future.

With David, his daydreams had life and color. When he thought about his future, and dared to include David, it felt real. Vivid. He could picture them bringing each other drinks at work and making rules about limiting work talk after hours. They could visit galleries and museums and bicker over whether they’d watch rom-coms or sports. There would be blow job negotiations and David cleaning up after Patrick cooked. Or something. Those were just some ideas.

If David knew how far Patrick’s daydreaming went, he’d probably run for the hills. Then again, maybe David’s love of rom-coms made him susceptible to the same kind of romantic fantasies. He wanted to find those things out. He wanted to know the times David let himself get lost in hope and the times David’s anxiety overruled all. Did they complement each other in those areas or would their anxieties fuel each other? He couldn’t wait to find out.

He hoped he’d get the chance to find out.

The Christmas music abruptly stopped and he looked over to see his mom’s face on his phone. “Hey, Mom. How are you?”

“Great, sweetheart. How are you? Work going okay?”

He wanted to tell his mom all about his plan to woo David, but he was a grown man and didn’t need to talk about that stuff with his parents. Maybe it was a holdover habit from Rachel. His parents had known her nearly as long as he had, so it was hard not to talk to them about his relationship with her. “It’s going well. Stressful with budgeting and end-of-year stuff, but it’s going well.”

“That’s good, honey. How are your friends? David and Stevie?”

Patrick huffed out a laugh. “They’re good.”

“What’s so funny?”

“I don’t know. Why’d you ask about them?” He leaned back against his kitchen counter.

“You talk about them a lot. It’s good to know you have friends around you.”

“Do I talk about them a lot?” He ran his hand through his hair.

His mom laughed. “You do. Mostly David,” she said cautiously. “Are you two… “ She’d never been overly nosy, but it was nice to know that she still felt comfortable asking him about his love life after he’d come out to them.

“We’re not, but.” He took a deep breath. “But, uh, I’m going to ask him out.” Maybe he wasn’t too adult to talk to his mom about it.

She giggled. “Go get ‘em tiger. How are you going to do it?”

It wasn’t until then did he realize he probably had his mom to thank (blame?) for his tendency toward wanting to make romantic gestures. She’d raised him on romances and love stories and made sure he knew all about the wonderfully romantic things his dad had done during their courtship. Of course that had manifested into Patrick wanting to make a gesture with the secret Santa instead of being a normal person and walking into David’s office and inviting him to dinner. “We’re doing a secret Santa thing at work and I drew David.”

His mom squealed. _Squealed_. “Oh my goodness! You should do Twelve Days of Christmas gifts!”

“Mom, Christmas is in five days.”

“Oh. Right. You should write him a song. You have such a beautiful voice.”

“I thought about that, but it feels a bit much for a possible first date. I don’t want to scare him off. I’ve given him a couple of small gifts already, and I have an idea about another one.”

“I’m sure whatever you do will be perfect. How could he not want to date you?”

Patrick sighed. “I’m a little worried. I think he’s mad at me.”

“What happened?”

“I had to turn down part of his budget request at work, which is going to make his job a lot harder during our most important season. He’s tried to convince me to change my mind, but I can’t.”

“Oh, honey, if he’s as great as you’ve made him sound, I’m sure he’ll understand. It’s always hard to change plans when you’ve had your heart set on something, but I’m sure he respects you have a job to do, and I’m sure you respect he has a job to do.” Like mother, like son.

“I hope you’re right. He might just need some time.”

He could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m sure that’s it, sweetheart. It’ll be okay.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll keep you posted.”

“He’s welcome to join us at Christmas.”

“Mom! A little quick, don’t you think?” Yup, he definitely knew where he got his tendencies.

“Okay, okay. I’m just saying. It’s nice to see you happy.”

He laughed. “It’s good to feel happy.”

She made a delighted little noise. “Speaking of Christmas. Are you still joining us at your aunt’s for Christmas Eve dinner?”

“I am. And your place on Christmas at around noon like usual?”

“That’s perfect. I’ll let you go. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Okay, love you, Mom.”

“Love you too, my sweet boy. I’ll see you in a few days. Good luck with David!” She giggled.

Patrick hung up and grinned like a fool to himself. His mom would adore David.


	4. December 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, the guys are idiots and then stop being idiots. Feels a little stressy for a bit but the chapter ends happily. I promise <3

“I’d like a venti caramel macchiato, skim, two sugars, and a sprinkle of cocoa powder,” David said.

“Will that be everything?” The barista smiled at him.

David’s gaze wandered to the wooden plank with tea bags pinned to it. “And a Moroccan mint tea.”

“Great. Anything else?”

He looked at the pastry case. “And a piece of pumpkin bread. Two. Two pieces of pumpkin bread.”

The barista hovered their hand over the register and looked at David expectantly, smile now strained. “That all?”

“And a venti Americano with a third piece of pumpkin bread. Separate bags, please.” Stevie sidled up next to David. “Since you’re buying Patrick a drink and pastry, you can buy me one too.”

“I don’t owe _you_ an apology.”

“Sure you do.”

“For what?” David pulled his debit card from his wallet.

“The way you talk to me about my hair in the shower drain.”

“I think you owe _me_ an apology for refusing to clean out the hair catch I bought for that exact purpose.” David swiped his card through the machine and moved out of the way once he finished paying.

“But it’s so much more fun to listen to your shrieks. Anyway, why the apology tea?”

David slid the strap of his bag up his shoulder. “Because after we talked last night, I realized I wasn’t empathetic enough with him yesterday.”

Stevie looked at him like he’d donated all his Givenchy and filled his closet with Wranglers and flannel. “Because you weren’t empathetic enough.”

“Um, that’s what I said?” He pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Honestly? I don’t even have a joke for that. I think your unexpected show of emotional intelligence has snatched my ability to troll you, and I feel very uncomfortable right now.”

“Thank fuck for that.” David gave Stevie a small smile before returning to his Instagram scrolling, and by Instagram scrolling, he meant re-reading his DM with Patrick from the other night because he was the most emotionally intelligent middle schooler in the world.

When David and Stevie made it to the office—only ten minutes late—he went straight to Patrick’s office. The need to deliver the tea while it was still hot forced him not to stall. If he didn’t apologize first thing, he’d spend the entire day making a big deal out of it. His productivity would be out the window.

Patrick’s office door was open, but he wasn’t inside. David waited a few seconds, but decided to go ahead and leave the tea and pastry. He’d catch up with Patrick later. He sat the cup and bag in front of Patrick’s keyboard and scanned his clean desk for sticky notes. David moved around to the back of the desk and reached over to Patrick’s office supply tray to grab a sticky note and pen.

_Sorry for being testy yesterday._

_D_

As he moved to leave, he spotted a familiar spiral bound notebook open next to Patrick’s phone. The RAY employee handbook open to the employee dating policy. Oh. David’s stomach dropped through the floor. Why was Patrick looking at that? The guy from the flagship store. Of course. The guy had focused so much on flirting with Patrick so much he’d barely noticed David. Why wouldn’t Patrick be interested in dating a cute, athletic guy like that? Patrick probably wanted someone he could go subzero camping with in the winter and zip lining with in the summer. David was… not that person.

He’d spent a fair amount of time fantasizing about what it could be like to date someone sporty like Patrick. If Patrick liked to ski, David could greet him with a spiked hot cocoa in the lodge and make sure to warm him up thoroughly in their room. If Patrick played baseball, David could easily find some ‘boyfriend of a player’ looks from his wardrobe and apply sunscreen to Patrick’s pale skin. If Patrick wanted to go hiking, David could use that time to watch a TV show Patrick hated or sleep. Probably definitely sleep. David could support Patrick in going and doing the outdoorsy stuff he liked while David did the things he learned Patrick didn’t enjoy. They could balance each other out. Look at him being all mature and thinking about relationship stuff.

But Patrick was a sporty guy who worked for an outdoor recreation company. He’d want to date someone who would race him on the slopes and play on his baseball team and plan a challenging hike. Blow him at some gorgeous overlook or something. Beyond working together and having a good time at happy hour, did they really have that much in common? Sure, they kept conversation going easily during pockets of their workday and outside of it, but it was in fairly small doses. Could they sustain an actual relationship? Maybe his feelings for Patrick were based on slim pickings in the office (and a disappointing social life) than an actual connection.

That train of thought didn’t quite settle right with him, though. It seemed more of a compulsion to doubt and deny something good in his life than a genuine reaction to the circumstances. The small voice inside who regularly argued against his self-deprecating tendencies screamed at him that they had a genuine connection, but he was in the mood for a pity party and that voice was blacklisted.

David walked down the hallway to his own office and went through his morning routine to calm himself. He put his bag away, turned on his lamp (because fluorescents are incorrect), and opened the horrific corporate off-white blinds to capture as much natural light as possible. When he turned toward his desk, he saw another perfectly wrapped gift. The same paper and red bow as the mug, but a different shape. It was a recognizable weight and size, but he couldn’t quite place it.

He carefully opened the paper to reveal a familiar black leather cover. A lump formed in his throat as he pulled out a leather journal identical to the one he used every day, which only had a couple dozen pages left. He’d kept meaning to pick up his next one, but put it off for some post-Christmas shopping. At home, he had a shelf of the same journals that took him back years. The gift was… so nice. Maybe he could forgive someone not cleaning out the K-cup. At least one of his co-workers was pretty damn thoughtful. 

# # #

  


Patrick stared at the tea, bread, and sticky note for a couple minutes, grinning like a fool. All the tension balled up tightly between his shoulders disappeared the moment he saw it sitting on his desk. David wasn’t mad. Or maybe he was mad, but he wasn’t holding a grudge. He pulled out his wallet and slid the sticky note inside before he could berate himself for acting like a tween with their first crush.

As he slid his wallet back in his pocket, he noticed what he’d been reading before Ray called him into his office. Crap! Had David seen? He had to. If David had been at his desk long enough to hunt down a sticky note, surely he’d noticed _the literal only thing open on his stupidly clean desk_. Dammit! He’d wanted to make his feelings clear to David directly, not through the RAY employee handbook. Maybe he should go talk to David and gauge his reaction? If David saw that and realized what it meant, and was as excited about it as Patrick hoped, surely David would have just waited in Patrick’s office for him or said something a bit different on the note. 

He sat at his desk and tried to work on the report Ray had requested, but he couldn’t concentrate. Every working part of his brain focused on David and what David might be thinking about and if David was freaking out or if David was happy and waiting for Patrick to go say something. If Patrick didn’t go check in with him, he’d waste an entire day of productivity, and he couldn’t risk that this close to the end of the year.

Patrick forced himself to stand and walk to David’s office. The door wasn’t closed, so that was a good sign. Hopefully. David’s back was to him as he stood at his drafting table, so he allowed himself a few seconds of watching David’s graceful hand move over a large piece of paper. 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1. Patrick rapped his knuckles against the doorframe. “Hey, David.”

David jumped so much, Patrick half expected him to lift from out of his shoes.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. In the zone?”

David kept facing his drafting table, but gave Patrick a quick look. “Mm, yup. What’s up?”

Patrick had planned to go in his office and plop down into David’s guest chair like he often did, but the vibe was… off. “Uh, I just wanted to thank you for the tea and bread. And apologize for yesterday.”

David waved a hand. “Nothing to apologize about. I was dismissive of the difficult position you’re in.” David kept looking at his table, but he wasn’t actively drawing any longer. Ouch.

With each second that stretched and swelled between them, Patrick’s heart sank further in his body. David didn’t like him the way Patrick liked David. That was painfully clear. He’d seen the employee dating policy open on Patrick’s desk as clear as a love letter with David’s name on it, and he was shutting Patrick out. The months of flirting and teasing was just… meaningless? A way to pass the workday? Or David was the kind of person who enjoyed flirting with someone but as soon as there was a whisper of it getting real, he fled.

“No worries. We’re both in a tough spot.” He swallowed on the sting at the back of his throat. “Anyway, thanks again. I’ll, uh, see you later.” Patrick turned before David said anything and rushed to one of the gender neutral, single stall bathrooms. He splashed water on his face and forced his disappointment down into a box to deal with later. He had work to do.

Somehow Patrick managed to get through the next few hours and finish the report for Ray. His mind only wandered to David every minute or two. At lunch, he closed his door to eat at his desk to mope in private. He turned his computer volume off so he wouldn’t be interrupted by the incessant ding of his Gmail chat messages or the thunderous silence of the one chat that was unusually quiet.

At fifty-nine minutes and fifty-five seconds into his lunch, he opened his office door and got slapped in the face with the smell of seafood. Whoever heated up fish in an office kitchen should have their microwave privileges taken away.

Three seconds later, Stevie was there as though she’d been waiting for him. “Hey, you’re quiet today. It’s weird. And it stinks. Did you heat up fish?”

“I’m not quiet, I’m working.” He turned and walked back to his desk. “And, no, I didn’t. I’m not an asshole.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Okay then. Still coming to Thirsty Thursday tonight?”

Patrick stiffened. He’d forgotten what day it was. “Not tonight. I have some stuff I need to take care of. You two have fun.” He hoped his tone was friendly and not at all devastated.

“See, that’s my mistake. I phrased it as a question and I wasn’t asking. We’ll see you there.” Stevie turned and left before he could argue. He might as well go instead of sit at home and wish he were there. Acting like everything was normal would probably be the only way to make it normal. Fake it till you make it.

  


# # #

  


“Why did you make sure he’s coming? You should’ve let him do his own thing.” David took the polar bear shot Stevie slid to him.

“Because if I didn’t make sure he’d coming, you would be an absolute pain in my ass overthinking everything. I don’t need you ruining my Thirsty Thursday fun before I have to see my family this weekend.” Stevie took her own shot. “It’s one thing if you have a reasonable excuse to be a pain in my ass. This is not one of them.”

David rolled his eyes. “A hottie with a naughty body was eye-fucking him the other day and he looks up the employee dating policy today? Obviously not a coincidence.”

“Stop making trouble where there isn’t any.”

“Um, _hello_ , have you ever met me? I’m basically anxiety in a skin suit and designer clothes.”

“Hey, guys.” Patrick slid onto the stool next to Stevie instead of David. That was… new. He smiled at David, but it was a little tighter than usual and didn’t quite reach his eyes, like a dimmer switch applied to a hundred watt bulb. He was so used to Patrick exuding life with his wide smiles and teasing grins and loud eyes. Patrick was the most unassumingly sexy person David had ever met, but his attraction to Patrick hadn’t been immediate. Rather a slow-burning flame that had eventually engulfed him. Patrick’s easy smiles and laughs had been as much a part of David’s growing attraction to him as the decent way Patrick treated everyone, especially David. But seeing him work to tone down that smile? Knowing he was connected to the reason for a dimmed smile? It hurt. A lot. As soon as Patrick had left David’s office earlier, he knew he’d been too cold. He could only blame himself, and he felt sick.

“Hey, Patrick. How was your day?” Stevie turned on the stool so most of her back was to David. He didn’t like that at all.

Patrick glanced quickly at David. “Fine, you?” The most non-response ever. Very unlike Patrick. Usually he had at least one Ray story to share or something to tease David about.

“Oh, you know, same drama, different day. The manager at the flagship store is being a sharp pain in my ass right now. Can’t wait until vacation starts.” Stevie slid off the stool. “Let’s get a table. Three people trying to talk at a bar is weird.”

She marched over to the booths at the far side of the bar, beyond the pool tables. Stevie always managed to find them a table on Thirsty Thursday like it was her only super power. That and finding a street parking spot next to their destination whenever they went to Toronto.

Patrick nodded at David and offered a closed-mouth smile as he hopped down from the stool. Nope. Definitely didn’t like that either. He followed Patrick to where Stevie had taken residence. Patrick sat across from Stevie, which left David with the world’s most awkward decision. Sit next to Patrick and feel the wall steadily erecting between them or across from him and feel the cooled warmth in his eyes. They _always_ sat next to each other on Thirsty Thursdays. Sometimes he let his legs naturally spread so their thighs touched. Innocent, but that casual touch always sustained him through the next week. And grabbing each other’s arms as they told stories throughout the night.

Stevie slid to the middle of her side. Well, then. He couldn’t decide whether he wanted to thank her for giving him a reason not to have to look into Patrick’s eyes or flip her off for making him acutely aware of how their legs probably wouldn’t be touching and his arm would remain ungrasped. He sat in the booth as close to the edge as possible without it looking obvious, but Stevie shot him a look that said it was obvious. He couldn’t get anything past her. So annoying.

She caught the server passing and ordered them a round of drinks. “So, Patrick.” David tensed. It never boded well when Stevie started a sentence with _so._ “David tells me there’s some cutie at the flagship trying to get into your hiking pants.”

David made some sort of horrific whimper/groan sound and tried to cover it with a cough. He landed a kick to her ankle and wished he had steel-toed boots on for the first time in his life. How she managed to not even flinch convinced him further she might be a robot.

Poor Patrick. Trapped between David’s body and Stevie’s absolute lack of tact. Patrick didn’t spare David a glance or even an eye roll. No smart ass jokes or immediate denials. He sat inches away, hands clasped on the table, stiff posture. David had studied Patrick’s body language more closely over the course of the year than the collections of all his favorite designers combined. He knew Patrick’s micro expressions better than the care instructions for his knits collection. The silence stretched and it took mere seconds for David’s anxiety to stifle him.

“David said that, huh?”

David’s mind kicked into overdrive to (over)analyze Patrick’s tone, cadence, word choice, pitch, tenseness in his posture. He picked up surprise? Maybe a pinch of relief? It made no sense.

“He did.” Stevie stared at David as she said it.

David turned toward Patrick. His brain already several sentences ahead of his mouth and hands. “It’s just- that cashier was flirting with you. Like, _a lot_. An elephant walking across Lake Ontario would be less obvious.”

“Okay, David.”

David pinched his lips between his mouth and took a breath. “That’s it. That’s the story. Stevie was teasing me about all the chocolate, which she is _not getting any of_ ,” he said to her with a sneer. “And I mentioned the guy in the tight polo to deflect.” David noticed Patrick watching his hands move so he tucked them under his thighs and did his best to ignore the sensation of his elbow brushing Patrick’s arm.

Patrick angled toward David. “To deflect.”

“Yes, you know, get Stevie to stop teasing me so we could gossip about you.” He squeezed his mouth closed. Had Stevie slipped truth serum in his polar bear shot or something? Or maybe the sudden onslaught of awkwardness with Patrick was more than his sensibilities could take.

“I’m glad being flirted with by someone _I’m not interested in_ could serve as good gossip fodder to help you deflect your absolutely ridiculous use of the employee credit.” Patrick looked David right in the eye as he said it. He saw hope in Patrick’s eyes. A lot of words in that little monologue, but his brain repeated _someone I’m not interested in_ like a record scratch. David couldn’t talk himself out of acknowledging Patrick had chosen very direct language. Patrick was usually careful with his language.

“Oh.” The employee handbook thing must have been a coincidence or— Patrick’s knee knocked into David’s, and he smiled that smile upside-down one that always caused David’s stomach to flip.

“This music sucks. I’m going to go pick something decent.” Stevie climbed out of the booth.

“Pick some Mari—“

“Nope. Pick your own shit.” Stevie marched off.

David looked back at Patrick. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have gossiped about you with Stevie.”

Patrick’s loud, free laugh soothed any of David’s lingering anxiety, like a custom ASMR track. “David, I’d be worried if you didn’t gossip about me. At least this way I know you find me interesting.”

“I find you very interesting.”

“In spite of my cheap clothes and interest in winter camping?”

“In spite of your questionable taste in many things, yes. Baseball? I mean, come on. It’s the slowest thing ever.”

“I like lots of things that aren’t sports and outdoor activities.” Patrick looked at David with challenge in his eyes. They both sat angled completely toward each other now.

“Mm. Things like maintaining a spreadsheet for your music collection and volunteering at a senior center on the weekends?” The bartender dropped their drinks off and David smirked at Patrick over the top of his vodka cranberry.

Patrick’s wisp of an eyebrow curved upward. “You know, I should do more volunteer work, but no. I enjoy live music and going to museums. Documentaries and road trips, even.”

“You do?” David should probably be used to his near constant state of surprise around Patrick.

“I do. What kinds of things do you like beyond designer clothes and the divas and Japan?”

“How do you know I like Japan? We haven’t talked about Japan, have we? I don’t think I’ve been _that_ drunk around you.”

Patrick’s cheeks reddened a bit. “Your phone background with the cherry blossom photo and the drawer of Japanese snacks you think I don’t know about.”

David’s jaw dropped. “How do you know about my secret stash?”

That teasing sparkle in Patrick’s eyes did David in. “You’re not very stealthy. There’s always wrappers with Japanese writing in your trash can, which I have a great view of when I sit in your guest chair.”

David was used to people looking at him, even admiring him for his looks or fashion, but he’d never had someone _pay attention to him_ like that. Not even him, really, but who he was and what he liked. “I do love Japan. A lot.” He took a drink. “I don’t miss a lot about having money these days, but I really miss the travel. I used to go to Japan at least once a year to visit the cherry blossoms and eat my weight in sushi.” Patrick’s smile grew fond. “Where, um, where would you like to go on a trip? Or road trip. If you could go anywhere tomorrow.”

Patrick looked off into the middle distance and took a sip of his beer. “New Orleans.”

David hadn’t expected that. He’d expected something like traveling North America to visit all the baseball courts or climbing Mt. Everest. “Why there? I mean, amazing choice, it’s an incredible city, but why?”

“So many things.” Patrick looked down at his hand and laughed. It was sweet to see Patrick a little bashful. They’d talked about tons of random things over the months, but this was starting to feel like the kind of get-to-know-you intentional conversation they’d have on a date or something. “The live music is a big part of it. I remember seeing a movie when I was a kid set in the French Quarter and ever since then, I’ve had this fantasy of renting an apartment with a balcony. Exporing during the day and learning the history. Then going out to an incredible dinner and wandering around to listen to the musicians in the clubs and on the streets. Spending the rest of the night on the balcony absorbing the energy of the city.I- it just seems like an incredible place.” Patrick smiled shyly.

“That would be an amazing trip.” David’s voice came out way too soft.

Patrick looked up at David and leaned his temple against the back of the booth. “I think so too. Maybe next year.”

David leaned his shoulder against the booth. “Yeah, maybe next year.” He rubbed his thumb against the hem of his sweater. He could see himself and Patrick exploring New Orleans. Arguing over how early to go out because Patrick insisted on going early before it got hot and David not wanting to leave the air conditioning. Eating incredible food and holding hands while listening to music. He could almost smell the blooming jasmine. “You know, the last time I went was with a few friends who are models. They were all doing juice cleanses, and I didn’t get to do the taste testing of all the beignet places.”

“That’s a travesty, David. You deserve to taste all the beignets.”

“I _know_. Thank you.” They grinned at each other.

They spent the rest of the evening figuring out more things they had in common while Stevie looked for a random. Maybe David had overreacted earlier when he’d panicked about there being little between him and Patrick beyond work, teasing, and drinking. He should have trusted his gut that his pull toward Patrick was stronger than chemistry with a cute coworker. It started to feel like there was enough common ground between them to make something happen. Something lasting. Something real.


	5. December 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 of slow burn palooza! Thank you all so much for the incredibly kind and supportive comments so far! It feels so weird to be writing something only 1-2 days ahead of posting, but it's a fun kind of weird <3

“David, did you make those signs?” Ronnie leaned back against the counter and sipped her coffee.

David focused on rinsing out the K-cup. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“This has your particular flavor of passive aggressive attitude all over it.” She jerked a thumb toward the perfectly hand lettered, if he did say so himself, sign propped up against the Keurig that read _People who don’t clean out the K-Cup go on Santa’s naughty list._ He thought the decorative holly in the corners was a nice touch. “Though, I’m particular to the water cooler one.” _Every time the jug is left empty, a child goes without presents._ “I think it’s Stevie who leaves it empty, you know.”

David whirled around at her, water droplets from the K-cup flying. She stared at him over her mug, grinning like the absolute troll she was. “You know, that absolutely tracks. God, she’s such a nightmare.”All the time he’d spent bitching about office etiquette to Stevie at home. She was probably doing every one of those things just to wind him up.

“Can you make one for the big printer? Jocelyn keeps forgetting to take out the letterhead, and I’m about two days away from staining the letterhead red.”

“That’s dark, Ronnie.” He grinned. “It would be my pleasure to make a sign for the printer.”

“I knew I liked you, Rose.” She tossed him a conspiratorial smile and strode out of the kitchen.

David walked back to his office with a smile on his face, pausing at Stevie’s office to flip her off. “What was that for,” she yelled after him.

“You know what you did!”

David was in a surprisingly chipper mood. Getting caught in a fifteen minute “conversation” (nodding and smiling session) with Ray hadn’t even tanked it. It was a December holiday miracle. He’d had an almost smile on his face all day. Since, well, since last night. _Someone I’m not interested in. Someone I’m not interested in. Someone I’m not interested in._ Patrick’s words had played on a loop in his mind as he and Stevie made their way home, while he got ready for bed, until sleep finally took him, the first thought as he woke up, and it hadn’t stopped yet, actually.

Patrick wasn’t interested in that guy, but he was looking at the employee dating policy. If he allowed himself to lean into logic and deduction instead of self-doubt and fear, he’d have to conclude that maybe, possibly, perhaps Patrick was checking it because he was interested in David? No, not a question mark. A full stop.

He needed to quit being an idiot. Of course there was a chance Patrick was interested in him. Patrick flirted with him. _A lot_. Patrick wasn’t a flirty guy. They’d been out at bars and tipsy often enough by now that he’d see it in action, surely, but when they drank, Patrick only had eyes for David.

Fuck.

Okay.

 _Okay_.

He’d been dragging his feet on figuring out what to do for Patrick’s secret Santa gift. It was his chance to really do something special and make a statement, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that a work-related thing wasn’t the best way to make his feelings known. Then again, if he didn’t have the looming clock of secret Santa, would he ever do it? Probably not. When it came to matters of the heart, he had about as much nerve as a sea sponge.

He could give Patrick something sentimental and use it as a segue into a conversation about how Patrick makes _him_ sentimental. Or maybe a gift that demonstrated how well he knows Patrick. Or he could just stick a bow on his head and present himself. David snorted. Yeah, right.

When he got back to his office, he found a red envelope on his chair with no name on it. His secret Santa had been nailing it so far with the gifts, and he couldn’t wait to see what awaited him inside. He’d expected a coffee gift card or a gag gift this year, but the journal was especially thoughtful. He did bring his journal to every meeting so whoever drew him could’ve noticed how close he was to the end of it.

Maybe this envelope held the secret Santa’s identity. Guessing the gift giver was too stressful. He could talk himself in and out of it being just about everyone in the office, except Stevie. She would have used it as an opportunity to embarrass him with a singing telegram or something equally traumatizing. Unless it was her and she was lulling him into a false sense of security before embarrassing the hell out of him at the company Christmas party tomorrow night. Fuck. Maybe it _was_ Stevie.

He pulled a lovely white card from the envelope that had slightly raised snowflakes matching the wrapping paper. He unfolded the piece of paper inside the card and found a printed receipt for two tickets to the Night Market. He’d looked yesterday and they were sold out all weekend!

David tried to think back on when he might have mentioned an interest in going to it. A market filled with artisans and creators with alcohol and a s’mores bar? Yes, please. He knew it was a popular event and probably a safe bet guess by the gift giver. Wait, he _had_ mentioned it. He could picture talking with Brooke about it a couple of weeks back. It was before the full staff meeting started, so it could have been anyone who’d overheard him. Kudos to that person for remembering something he’d said in passing. He sure hoped his secret Santa revealed themselves so he could thank them because this was definitely the best year of the game yet.

Hmm. The tickets were for tonight. That was kind of short notice. He didn’t think Stevie had plans, but she’d probably complain the whole time or get drunk too fast and he’d worry about her bumping into a table with breakables or something. She’s like a petite bull in a china shop when tipsy.

He pictured Patrick playfully teasing David about how seriously he took selecting his s’mores to try. Patrick placing his hand at the small of David’s back when walking around the tight rows as they had to move single file. Laughing together as they tried to find a funny gift David could give Stevie for Christmas. They’d have a great time. All he had to do was ask.

It should be easy. They hung out a lot and had spent plenty of time together just the two of them, but his intention made things feel different. Weighted. Risky. Like if he asked Patrick to go with him, Patrick would immediately know the flavor and texture of David’s feelings and would politely decline. Patrick would be the kindest rejector in the world. David bet Patrick was the kind of person who would turn someone down in a way that it left the person feeling better off for it, like a bartender who talked you out of that second Long Island iced tea.

David logged back into his computer and opened his chat with Patrick. He started to type.

_Hey, so I got these tickets to a thing tonight and I’m sure you already have Friday night plans, but I don’t and if you don’t…_

He deleted it and started over.

_Are you free tonight? I have tickets to the Night Market and I think we’d have fun. It could totally be just as friends though, but if you want it to be a date_

He cleared that out.

_My secret Santa dropped off tickets to the Night Market. Want to go with me?_

His finger hovered over the return key. No. If he was going to do this, he needed to do it in person and not through their Gmail chat.

David stood and walked down the hall past Stevie’s office, flipping her off again.

“Seriously! What the hell did I do?”

He stopped and stuck his head in and scowled. “When you spend your eternity in hell, I hope you’re surrounded by empty water coolers, you monster,” he hissed. Stevie tilted her head back and belly laughed.

He flipped her off again and continued to Patrick’s office. Patrick looked up when David reached his doorway and it was like he went into high definition. His smile grew brighter, eyes impossibly round, practically a glow about him. Or maybe that was just David’s emotions projecting all over him.

“Hey, David. What’s up?”

David took a couple of steps in the office, clutching the printed tickets in his hands in front of his waist.

Patrick looked down at the paper, and his smile grew even larger. “Whatcha got there? A poem about about my stellar fashion sense in iambic pentameter?”

“That prospect is horrifying.”

“The poem or my clothes.”

“Both, obviously.” David bit back his smile. “I, um, was wondering.” He twisted the ring on his forefinger. Just say it. All he had to do was say it. Ask him. It was easy. “My secret Santa just left me two tickets to the Night Market tonight and I was wondering if you’d like to join me.” Was he asking Patrick on a date? Did he need to say it was a date? That wasn’t enough notice for a date. Shit. Shit! He hadn’t thought it through enough. He’d been so focused on the possibility of watching Patrick get chocolate on his lips while eating a s’more, he hadn’t strategized.

Patrick’s eyes widened.

“I mean, you know, if you’re free. I have some Christmas shopping I still need to do, and you mentioned last night you did too. And they have these s’mores, and I know how you like to make those while campi—“

“David.” Patrick held up his hand. “David, yes. That sounds fun. I’d like to join you.”

He let out a breath. “Okay. Good. Yeah. Um, the market opens at six.”

“Do they sell food?”

“They do.”

Patrick leaned back in his chair. “Want to go when it opens to have best pick of the it?”

David’s smile grew. “Yes, I would like that.”

“Maybe you can help me pick out a gift for my mom.”

“Mm, I can definitely do that. I have impeccable taste.”

“I know.” Patrick grinned.

The air felt a little charged. More than a little. “Right. Well. I’m going to.” He jerked his thumb behind him and took a step back. “See you later?”

“See you later, David.”

David nodded and smiled and turned around and left before all his dignity fled to hide in the crooks and crannies of Patrick’s office. It wasn’t until he got back to his desk that he realized he hadn’t actually clarified whether or not it was a date, and he’d probably ruined any potential date vibes by firmly shifting it into the hangout zone by saying they could do their holiday shopping errands together. Ugh. For someone who’d kissed, like, a thousand people, he had no game.

  


# # #

  


“Are we doing the s’mores first?” Patrick tucked his hands in his pockets and tried not to gape at how incredible David looked. He’d seen David in a ton of sweaters, but a snug, white T-shirt under a cardigan was new and delicious and he wanted to see David in more of them. David’s eyes always captured Patrick’s attention first, but his chest in that shirt gave David’s eyes a run for their money. Damn.

“God, no. We need to do a lap first and scope out our options. Are you the kind of person who buys food from the first booth without seeing the other options?” David’s eyebrows inched closer to his hairline.

“If I see something I like, why keep looking?”

David turned to fully face him. His mouth opened and closed like a fish until he gave his head a little shake. Patrick loved being able to throw David off and watch his face talk for him. “Yes. Well. I suppose that has its merits too.” David tucked his coat over his arm and marched forward. Patrick followed, of course.

The way David navigated them around the indoor market led Patrick to the conclusion he’d been there before, he’d studied a map, or he had some sort of sixth sense for how to bob and weave to avoid running into people or trying to swim upstream. They landed back near the entrance less than five minutes later, and David whirled around. “Right. What do you want to go back and see?”

Patrick looked around them with wide eyes. “Um.” He’d been so focused on the way David quickly assessed each booth, he hadn’t paid close attention to the booths themselves. Damn. He was already messing up. “I’m not sure.” Patrick bit his lip as he looked back at David.

Instead of scowling or rolling his eyes, David’s eyes sparkled, or maybe that was the reflection of the nearby twinkle lights. His lips pinched to one side, deepening a dimple. “You’re a Night Market rookie, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry. Did you just properly use a sports metaphor?” That shouldn’t be as hot as it was.

“Is that a sports metaphor?” David’s eyebrows bunched together.

“Yes, it is, David,” Patrick said, laughing. “And yes, this is my first time here. Do you want to grab food first and strategize?” He knew David well enough to know he needed to get food in him to keep his crowd tolerance high.

David nodded. “I’m going to need some of that BBQ for sure.”

They made their way to the Santa Snack Zone and bought food from several of the vendors. Patrick found a table for them to sit at and divvy up the food. David’s willingness to share food said more about his comfort with Patrick than just about anything else could.

David took a bite of a small gingerbread donut. His eyes fell closed and he let out a sinful moan. “Fuck, that’s delicious.”

Patrick froze, hand stilled midair with a fork full of barbecued pork. How could he find one person so damn sexy? Ridiculous. It’s like years of the attraction Patrick never really felt for anyone (but should have) had been saved up and unleashed on David Rose all at once. Because watching someone eat a donut should _not_ have Patrick squirming on his chair.

David’s eyes opened, and he frowned. “The food okay?”

“Huh?” Patrick blinked. “Yup. Delicious.” He shoved the bite in his mouth and pretended not to notice David’s small smirk.

After they finished eating, they cleaned up their trash and began walking back through the market vendors. It was fascinating watching what caught David’s eye and caused him to stop. He asked the vendors thoughtful questions and complimented some of them on their displays.

“These are incredible.” David stopped at a booth of handmade nutcrackers.

Patrick picked up a nutcracker in a Blue Jay’s uniform. “My grandma collects nutcrackers. She has a bunch from her travels in Europe and has one for each of her grandkids. I used to help set them up as part of our Christmas tradition.”

“That’s a really sweet tradition.”

Patrick smiled as opened the nutcracker’s mouth. “I’ve thought about starting my own collection.”

“Why don’t you?”

He shrugged. “I might someday.” He’d always imagined starting a collection when he got married. Getting a bride and groom as his first, then going from there. One representing their honeymoon, each kid, other major milestones. Now he wasn’t sure he actually wanted kids. Maybe eventually he’d be able to get a groom and groom one to start his collection. He frowned at the nutcracker in his hand. Why wait? He didn’t need to have a partner to start his own traditions, and he didn’t need to wait for a partner to live his life how he wanted to. “I’ll think about it.” He placed the nutcracker down, but grabbed a business card for the creator.

As they continued exploring, David helped Patrick pick out a handwoven blanket for his mom and a couple of gin mixers for his dad.

“That looks really nice.” He stopped in the middle of the aisle.

David stopped and turned to Patrick. “Mm?”

“That display. It’s nice.” Patrick pointed to a table to their left with bowls of spiced and flavored nuts, but as he looked more closely, he realized they weren’t just bowls. Slices of trees had been hollowed out to hold the metal bowls. Some of them were on the main table while others were on top of chunks of trees at varying heights. Moss was artfully scattered around and there were a few felted woodland creatures about. Wow. The nut scoops were even made of wood.

David looked at Patrick encouragingly. “What do you like about it?”

“It’s really eye-catching.” He concentrated on developing a thoughtful response so he could show David he appreciated the kind of work he does. “I really like how it looks so natural and outdoorsy.”

David shifted closer to him, and their arms brushed. “It’s a lovely display. How does it make you feel?”

“Hungry, though I’m pretty full.”

“You’d better still have room for s’mores.”

“That’s why I said ‘pretty’ full. There’s always room for s’mores, David.” David rewarded him with the pleased twist of his mouth. “I can see myself wanting some of these nuts for my next hike. They’d make a really good snack, but they’re also kind of classy looking with those wooden bowl holders. I could see having them out at a dinner party too. Or games night.”

David gasped. “You do games nights?”

“I used to in my old town when I had a steady group of friends who liked to play, but I don’t know as many people well enough here to have a good games night because you need—“

“Six for optimal gameplay.”

Patrick turned fully toward David and didn’t hold back on his smile. “Exactly.”

They stared at each other for several moments, caught up in the unexpected commonality between them. David looked away first. “Well, I’d say this was a successful display then. It made you feel all those things and you could see yourself using the product in explicit ways.”

Patrick knew David’s work was important. Hell, he’d bought a ton from RAY’s long before joining the company, and now realized David had been a part of that. But understanding it from this perspective, out of the office, gave him a new appreciation of what David did. Of the value in David’s craft and science. “Can I buy you some nuts?”

“I’ll never turn down some nuts.” David’s mouth twitched. “I should sample them first. Make an informed decision, you know.”

“Definitely. Collect data, weigh your options. Very important when making purchasing decisions.”

David fished out samples of each kind of nut for them both. David chose a pack of the rosemary mixed nuts, and Patrick bought two assorted gift packs. One for himself and one to bring to Christmas Eve dinner with the family.

They wandered over to another section of the market. “Hey, thanks for that.”

David took a sip from the mulled wine in a globe ornament they’d just picked. “For what?”

“Helping me better understand the importance of your work. I do value your work, you know.” He took a drink of his own wine.

“Thank you for saying that,” David said softly, knocking his shoulder into Patrick’s. “I value yours too, even when it cockblocks me from my vision.”

Patrick stopped in his tracks and put a hand on David’s shoulder when David stopped too. “David, I would never want to cockblock you,” he said in a serious voice, but felt his mouth twitching.

David narrowed his eyes as he studied Patrick. If he were more bold, he’d kiss David right then and there. The crowd shifting around them be damned. But he wanted their first kiss to be a little more special, a little more private. He’d like their first kiss to be after something he knew was actually a date. Though they’d been flirting all evening, he wasn’t wholly convinced they were on a date between David’s clarification of needing to do shopping and the fact they’d met there instead of going together. On the scale of hang out to date, the evening sat somewhere in the middle. The middle was fine. Great, even. He was one step closer to being in a real, official, mutually agreed upon labeled date with David Rose.

“Oh, my god.” David looked over Patrick’s shoulder and his mouth curved into a dangerous smile. “There’s photo cutouts over there and I’m going to need you to be a good sport, okay?”

“Another sports metaphor, David. I’m swooning over here.”

“That’s sports related too? Jesus. I thought it was just a nickname or something. Ew.” David strode past Patrick.

Patrick turned and followed him to a group of cardboard cutouts. He was slightly terrified about which one caught David’s eye. “Where do you want me?”

David arched an eyebrow. “No argument? You’re going along with it?”

“Sure, why not? I mean, if I’m going to be in a photo, so are you. Quid pro quo.”

“Are you Clarice or Hannibal in this scenario?”

“I’m absolutely Clarice. David, you hate running, and I am far less cultured than you.”

“Oh, so I’m the cannibal here? Nice, Patrick. Real nice.” David shook his head, but looked delighted. “I need you to stand behind that one.”

Patrick followed where David pointed. “You want me to be an elf.”

“Not _an_ elf. Buddy the elf.”

“Got a thing for tights and curly toed shoes?”

“Maybe I do. Go.” He shoo’d Patrick away.

Patrick placed his bags at David’s feet and dutifully stood behind the _Elf_ cardboard cutout with the head missing. He held his smile and moved how David directed him.

“Okay, no smile this time. In the movie cover, his mouth is straight. Yeah, like that. Good. Got it.” David bit his bottom lip as he looked down at his phone.

“You’ll send it to me, right?”

“I’ll send you a few options.” David smiled at his phone, and Patrick wished he had his own phone out in that moment so he could snap a photo. David looking down at a photo of Patrick. A photo of himself making David smile. With teeth. Wow. Patrick felt dizzy.

“Your turn,” he said before he let his mind get too carried away.

David rolled his eyes. “Fine. Which one? The ice skating one is nice.”

“Oh, no. You’re not getting off that easy. Good try, though. Very admirable effort.” Patrick picked up his bags, sliding the handles over his arm to keep his hand free to take photos. “That one.”

“You’re fucking kidding me.”

“I take Bill Murray movies very seriously, David.

David glowered at him. “Make it quick.” David stomped over to stick his head through the hole so it looked like he was smoking a cigar being lit by a skeleton’s hand.

“The scowl is great, really.” Patrick took a few photos. “Natural. It’s almost like you’re unhappy.”

David reached around the cutout to flip Patrick off.

“I need you to look surprised though, like the movie poster. Mouth open. Yup. Like that.” Patrick snapped a few photos. “Got it.” He looked down at the photos and his attention zeroed in on David’s open, waiting mouth. Hot damn. Foul balls. Wet socks. Stale popcorn. He tried thinking of anything to get his mind out of the bedroom so he didn’t make a fool of himself by popping a semi in the middle of a crowded market.

“How’d it turn out?” David stood close enough to Patrick that his chest pressed against Patrick’s back and he looked over Patrick’s shoulder. He’d give anything to have David wrap his arms around Patrick’s waist.

“Turned out great.”

“Patrick, that’s practically pornographic! Don’t you dare post that on social media.”

Patrick gulped. Audits. Jocelyn’s cat sweater. Ronnie’s heckling. “Don’t worry, this is going as your contact photo in my phone.”

David snorted. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Think Ben can teach me Photoshop? I can have a lot of fun with that photo.”

“ _Okay_. That’s enough.” David moved to stand in front of Patrick, and his back instantly felt cold. “Let’s Airdrop these.”

Patrick sent the photos to David, all the while daydreaming about possible future moments where they settled in at dinner or on the couch after a day exploring, Airdropping photos back and forth.

“Want to get s’mores now?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Patrick winked at David and walked toward the s’mores booth. He sensed David falling into step beside him.

The menu scared him a little. He had no idea there were so many kinds of s’mores available. “What are you thinking?”

David placed one hand on his hip. “I feel like the peppermint option is fitting for the season, but the cocoa espresso sounds good.”

“If the cocoa espresso sounds good, you should go for it. Or get both.” Patrick shrugged.

“Enabler.” David said the word with such fondness it sounded like a praise. “Which are you getting?”

“Whiskey salted caramel.”

“Decisive.”

Patrick looked David in the eye as he spoke. “When you know, you know.” One side of David’s mouth curved up. “My treat.”

David recorded the s’mores creation, and Patrick couldn’t wait to find out whether David would post it to Instagram and whether he’d tag Patrick in it.

They moved over to a quieter part of the market with their gooey treats. Now that he had the sticky thing in his hand, he realized there was no way to eat a s’more that wouldn’t be embarrassing on a date-maybe-not-date-hangout-thing.

“If you dare make fun of me for how I’m about to look while eating this, I’ll rub marshmallow in your hair.”

“Savage.” Patrick cheers’d his s’more against David’s. “As long as you don’t make fun of how I’m about to get this all over my face, I think we’re fine.”

David’s smile was small, but there. Definitely there. Patrick took a bite and tried not to get melted chocolate or marshmallow on his nose or chin. As long as it stayed within reach of his tongue, he’d be fine. Though, he probably could’ve grabbed a couple more napkins.

“Oh my _god_. This is amazing.” David wiggled his shoulders as he chewed.

“Mmhmm.” Patrick licked at the chocolate he felt just outside his top lip.

“You’ve got.” David pointed toward Patrick’s face. “Chocolate.”

Patrick licked his lips. “Did I get it.”

David shook his head. He slowly moved his hand toward Patrick’s face. “Can I?”

Patrick didn’t trust his voice so he nodded as blood rushed in his ears. David gently wiped his thumb across Patrick’s cheek, and Patrick almost leaned into it. It was so damn hard not to.

“Got it.” David brought his thumb to his mouth and licked the chocolate off the tip and _oh_. Patrick was on the verge of spontaneously combusting.

“Thanks,” Patrick whispered. They finished eating their s’mores in silence, but the looks between them inched toward scorching.

Eventually, they’d eaten and drank their way through the market, and walked by the booths at least three times. It was clear they were both delaying the end of the night. When the vendors started closing up, they had no more excuses, so Patrick glanced at his phone. Wow, they’d been hanging out for five hours? It felt like one, at most.

Patrick wasn’t ready for the night to end. He supposed he could invite David to go to a bar or something, but he sort of wanted to end their date (????) on a high note. Going to a bar would feel too much like their Thursday hangouts, and Patrick wanted this to feel different. When David yawned, that sealed it.

“Looks like they’re closing up.” Patrick realized they’d made it back to the entrance.

“I can’t believe we opened and closed it down. I had fun.” David smiled shyly.

“Me too. I’m really glad you invited me.”

“I’m really glad you said yes.” David’s smile grew.

“Thanks for helping me pick out gifts. You’ve got great taste.”

“I know.” David pretended to flip hair over his shoulder.

“You going to be alright getting home?”

David nodded. “You?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you at the company party tomorrow?”

David’s eyes lit up as though he’d forgotten they’d see each other again before Monday. Patrick wanted to capture that moment and keep it close forever. Wait, not even Monday. Monday was Christmas, which meant the start of their week-long office closure. He wasn’t sure when he’d see David after tomorrow night. “You will. Definitely.”

Patrick opened his arms and hoped David wouldn’t balk at a hug. He didn’t. David stepped right into Patrick’s arms. It was their first hug, and it felt like something. It might not be a kiss, but it was progress. Careful, gentle, intentional progress. David felt right in his arms with his chin hooking perfectly over David’s shoulder, and David’s face resting easily against Patrick’s. David rubbed his palm over Patrick’s back as Patrick made slow swipes with his thumb on David’s.

A security guard walked by them and announced they were closing, so Patrick pulled back. His cheeks burned. David pressed his lips between his teeth and his eyes twinkled. Nothing to do with nearby lights.

“Do, um, do you want to ride together to the party? I can pick you up.”

“Yeah. Yes. I’d like that.” David’s dimple deepened. “Shit. Stevie will want to go together. You know, roommates. Can she come too?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.” David’s smile grew. “So, um, I’ll see you tomorrow? We’ll text about what time to go?”

“Perfect. See you tomorrow.” Patrick gave David one more broad smile before making his way home in the opposite direction of David.

When he got into his apartment and pulled out his phone, the top notification was a tag on Instagram from David. The s’mores video, Patrick’s _Elf_ photo, David’s _Scrooged_ photo with a cake emoji over his open mouth, a few photos of the market’s decor, a couple of excellent vendor displays, and a photo he hadn’t realized David had taken of their food spread at the start of the night. If he didn’t know any better, it looked like they’d had one hell of a date.


	6. December 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 6 of the slow burn siege. How's everyone holding up? *evil grin*

“I can’t believe Ray insists on renting out this nightmarish place every year.” David groaned as he pushed open the door to the Happy Fun Center. _Happy_ and _fun_ weren’t exactly what he felt in that prison with too much neon paint. The only saving grace of the RAY Christmas party this year was the addition of Patrick. “Couldn’t we rent out a museum or something? You’re the budget manager. Don’t you have any pull here.” David didn’t like Patrick’s eager smile one bit. Lies. He liked it a little bit.

“You should be glad the weather around here is awful in winter, otherwise Ray would probably force us to some sort of team building center with tree walking and trust falls.” Patrick looked a little too delighted by the prospect.

David’s nostrils flared. “But why does it have to be an activity-based Christmas party.” He couldn’t help how whiny he sounded.

“David, you work for a company that sells recreational gear and experiences. Of course it’s going to be an activity-based Christmas party.”

“Not all of us like this sort of stuff,” David grumbled. At least the booze and food were free and bottomless.

Stevie shook her head. “He complains about it every year. Don’t listen to him.”

“Excuse you. I’m right here!” David scowled at her.

“And? Get something else to complain about.”

“ _Gladly._ ”

“Yeah, David, have some fun.” Patrick winked at him and practically skipped down the hallway, following signs to the RAY Christmas party.

“This is going to be so much fun to watch.” Stevie turned and took a few steps walking backward, flashing him a maniacal grin.

“You know, it’s disturbing how much enjoyment you get out of my discomfort. You should seek professional help for that.”

“What, like someone to professional help me troll you?”

David groaned. “You’re the worst. Let’s get this over with.”

Patrick looked around like a kid in, well, a kid in an indoor activity center. He couldn’t decide if he was completely charmed or terrified by Patrick’s enthusiasm. The gleam in Patrick’s eye left David a little shaky in his Neil Barrett’s because he had a feeling Patrick might try to get David to _do activities._ Ew. The worst part? If anyone could get him to do it, it’d be Patrick. Goddammit.

“Good evening! Welcome to the RAY employee Christmas party!” Ray greeted them with his Stepford smile and wearing a Santa hat and one of those kitschy, ridiculous Christmas suits with reindeer all over it.

“Thanks, Ray. This place is great.” Patrick’s excited smile warmed David’s cold heart a little.

“I’m pleased you think so, Patrick. The laser maze is a favorite of mine. And the go karts! You absolutely must do a few laps on those.”

“Maybe I can get someone to race me.” Patrick winked at David, who, in turn, pointedly ignored Stevie’s snort.

“Stevie, the drinks are over there. David, the food stations are that way.” Ray’s smile didn’t waver.

“Thanks, Ray.” David should probably be offended that Ray knew exactly what they wanted, but he appreciated the absence of judgment in Ray’s tone. Ray immediately moved on to greet another group walking into the special event space. The poinsettias clashed horribly with the neon green and purple wall paint. It made him nauseous.

“How about mini golf? That something your speed?” Patrick shoved his hands in the pockets of his tight jeans. The green shirt he’d chosen to wear looked fabulous on him. There had to be a way David could casually encourage Patrick to wear more green with a well-placed compliment or two.

“We don’t talk about mini golf after what happened last year,” Stevie said, shaking her head.

David avoided Patrick’s eyes.

“What happened last year?” Patrick looked between them.

“I believe she said we don’t talk about it,” David snipped.

“What did you do, David?” Patrick sounded positively gleeful at the whiff of drama.

“I’m going to go grab food.”

“It absolutely had nothing with our visual merchandiser getting angry at the moose obstacle and knocking an antler off with their club,” Stevie stage-whispered.

“You’re such a snitch.”

Patrick’s mouth fell open. “Anger and physical violence? I’ve never seen that side of you.”

“And you’re not going to!”

“I need a couple of drinks. Catch you guys later.” Stevie waggled her eyebrows at David. He offered her his fakest smile and used his middle finger to smooth his eyebrow.

“Shall we?” Patrick gestured toward the food.

“Mm. Yes. Last year they had little smokies in BBQ sauce. If this year is a repeat of that situation, the night is looking up.”

“Classy fare.”

“Patrick, we’re in an activity center focused at children. How classy do you expect it to be?”

Patrick laughed. “Fair point. Night looking up? You’re not excited about this Christmas party?” He had the nerve to pout a little. “And here I thought you’ve been looking forward to me kicking your ass at a bunch of activities.”

“What makes you think I’m going to participate in children’s games?”

Patrick took a step closer. “Because I know you don’t like to lose. We have that in common.”

David bit his bottom lip. How did Patrick manage to walk around all mild and nondescript most of the time then drop scalding heat like a weapon? “I’m open to negotiations.”

Patrick pulled his hands from his pockets and crossed his arms over his chest. His smile was so wide, David could see the tip of his tongue run along the bottom of his upper teeth. “Negotiations? I’m in. What did you have in mind?”

David could spend his evening sitting at one of the tables and making small talk with colleagues he didn’t care to socialize with as he stuffed his face with mediocre appetizers. Or. _Or_ he could try and get under Patrick’s skin a little bit and play some of the stupid games. If he were being honest with himself, he kind of wanted to see Patrick worked up. Since they weren’t at a point where he could see Patrick worked up with clothes off, he’d make due with arcade games at a work event. Bleak.

“All right.” David counted out on his fingers. “I will do go karts and axe throwing. We each pick three arcade games. I will _not_ go into Ball City because they do not clean the balls to my standard. And absolutely no climbing wall.”

Patrick eyes turned hot, and David shifted in place. So, Patrick liked negotiating things. He’d tuck away that little bit of knowledge for later. “Since _someone_ can’t handle themselves at mini golf, I propose laser tag.”

“I’ll do the laser maze, and that’s my final offer.”

Patrick held out a hand. “Deal.”

David pinched his lips to the side of his mouth as he shook Patrick’s hand. Their shake lingered, hands barely moving.

“Food then axe throwing? We should do the bladed event before drinking, and go karting immediately after eating is asking for trouble.” David grew increasingly excited about the evening ahead, but he’d never admit it. Even though Patrick had driven him and Stevie, David wasn’t sure they’d actually hang out at the party that much. He half expected Patrick to run straight to the climbing wall and spend the whole time with his sporty brethren.

After they stuffed their faces, they headed over to the axe throwing. David went first to rip the bandage off his embarrassment.

“H-how?” Patrick looked between David and the axe stuck in the center of the bullseye.

David shrugged and examined the bed of his nails to make sure he hadn’t done any damage. “I had a lumberjack phase. Picked up a few things.”

“You had a lumberjack phase. Of course you did,” Patrick said, laughing. “I guess I’m up.

“You’ll need to get two bullseyes to beat me.”

“Yup. Got it,” Patrick said, pronouncing a hard P. He sounded a little snippy and it was more than a little hot.

David moved over to the safety zone and watched Patrick line up and stare at the bullseye like he was trying to telepathically get it to cooperate.

“That was a nice shot.” Ronnie approached David.

“Thanks. Don’t tell Patrick, but it was a complete fluke.”

Ronnie snorted. “Like I’d tell that thumb anything.”

“Harsh, Ronnie. He’s not that bad. You should give him a chance.”

She rolled her eyes. “Nah. Someone needs give him shit to balance out all of that.” She waved her hand at David.

“Um, what?”

“You know what. You two going out yet?”

David gaped at her.

“Don’t look surprised. You two aren’t subtle. You’ve been a lot more tolerable since Ray hired that button-up dweeb.”

“I don’t know how to respond to that.” He had a horrific flash of their coworkers operating some twisted pool where they bet over when he and Patrick would get their shit together. That prospect made him ill. Stevie meddling was one thing, but he didn’t need a dozen people he was paid to talk to flagrantly not minding their business. David’s stomach churned.

“I met my wife at my last job.”

“Oh?”

“Yup.” Ronnie kept her attention on Patrick, which David appreciated. He didn’t want to feel any further under a microscope. A heart-to-heart had him itchy enough. “I figured, if I worked with her all day and still wanted to spend time with her outside of work, that had to mean something.”

“Mm.” He hadn’t thought of it that way. He’d focused more on the whole don’t shit where you eat thing. And, upon further reflection, that phrase is completely disgusting.

“Focus, Brewer!” Ronnie yelled right as Patrick threw an axe. He missed the target by a mile, and Ronnie walked away cackling. Patrick turned to David with wide eyes, looking completely scandalized.

“Yes, you can have a do over on that throw.”

An hour later, David had won two out of three go kart races and the laser maze (thank god for his yoga practice), so David got them consolation drinks. “Should I be offended by how surprised you are that I’m kicking your ass?”

Patrick stepped in close and put his hand on David’s bicep. “The only thing I’m surprised by is that you’ve kept this competitive streak hidden from me.”And, okay, that’s hot. Really fucking hot.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me that might surprise you.”

Patrick’s grin cranked to stunning. “Like what?”

“Guess you’ll have to stick around and find out.” David stepped away to let his line hit and began walking toward the arcade.

The arcade games didn’t go as well as David had hoped. Patrick insisted on some sort of racing game as a misguided attempt to make up for getting stomped at go karts, and of course he’d won. Patrick’s rowdy shout of “boom, baby!” with a first pump was excessive _and_ adorable, but David could take pride in the fact that actual racing in go karts clearly carried more weight than video game racing. He was bound to pick up a few skills that summer he’d spent in Germany with a couple drives down the Autobahn. David thought he’d surely win at Pac-Man. He’d been wrong. The fact that David had somehow managed to eke out a win in Mortal Kombat would forever mystify him. Probably Patrick too.

“I think I’ve earned dessert,” David grumbled, walking back toward the event space where the food waited. He forgot how weird it was to be surrounded by tons of people he didn’t know, but worked for the same company. With how small the headquarters staff was, it was easy to forget the company employed a bunch of retail staff across the several stores. At least he didn’t have to talk to any of them.

“Looks like I won,” Patrick said as he placed a couple of mini desserts on his place, looking smug as hell.

“What kind of numbers guy are you? I won.” David stopped scanning the cupcake platter and dropped his free hand to his hip.

Patrick straightened up and stared at him. “David, you won five times and I won six. That’s simple math.”

“We’re not counting _rounds_ , we’re counting _activities._ I won three activities and you won one. If you can even count video games on the same level as the other tangible things.”

“That’s ridiculous. It’s about total number of wins.” If it wasn’t for the twinkle in Patrick’s eye, David would be a bit worried that Patrick’s competitive streak might veer into the danger zone.

“I’m concerned that such flawed logic has gotten you this far in life. Next you’re going to tell me barbecue sauce is an acceptable marina replacement on pizza.”

“Well, barbecue chicken pizza—“

“Nope. You’d better stop right there before I think less of you.” David shoved a bite-sized brownie piece in Patrick’s face to shut him up. Stupid move because then his fingers grazed Patrick’s lips, and he’d be thinking about that the rest of the night.

“Mm.” Patrick licked his lips after eating the brownie, and David was dead. He’d died. At Happy Fun Center like a schmuck.

David spotted familiar long, dark hair and a flannel passing by, double-fisting beers. “Stevie! We need you to settle a debate for us.”

“Oh, god. What now?” Stevie turned and wobbled a bit on her feet. Maybe David should find a sober person to do it. Her judgment couldn’t always be trusted at the soberest of times, but Beer Stevie was a wild card.

Patrick began to speak, but David put a finger over Patrick’s lips. Since he’d already be thinking about them all night, might as well go for broke. “No. I don’t trust you not to present the situation objectively.” Patrick looked like he wanted to nip David’s fingertip, and he pulled his hand back reluctantly. Very reluctantly.

“Okay, David.” Patrick smirked at him.

David turned toward Stevie. “Let’s say you agreed to compete in several activities and some of those activities contained multiple rounds. When determining the winner, would you count each individual round or would you count the overall activity wins?”

Stevie rolled her eyes. “Activity wins, obviously. That’s the only way it’s fair. Otherwise some activities are more weighted than others.”

Maybe he’d underestimated Beer Stevie. David turned to Patrick. “Ha! Told you!”

Patrick looked dumbfounded. His mouth fell open and he stared at Stevie. “I- I can’t believe I didn’t think of that argument.” He shook his head and threw up his hands. “Yeah, you’re right. It makes sense. Congratulations, David.”

“Wait, _David_ won?” Stevie’s mouth dropped open.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t look quite so astounded by me having skills.”

“Would we call it skills or luck?” Patrick popped another mini brownie in his mouth.

“That’s enough out of you.” David tried to glare at Patrick, but he couldn’t. Patrick was too damn cute when he was all competitive.

“You know, we should’ve made a bet.”

David leaned into the warm and fuzzy glow of the couple of cocktails he’d had. “What would you have bet?” David arched an eyebrow and shifted a little closer to Patrick. He wanted Patrick to something flirty like loser takes the other one to dinner. Patrick’s smile grew like he read David’s mind. Damn that smile had no physical limits.

“There you are, Stevie. Oh, David, hey. I was hoping to run into you.”

David stiffened as Jake leaned in and gave him a quick kiss right on the lips like a goddamn predator. Who the hell greeted people like that without permission? _At a work function_. They hadn’t even slept together for ages! “Um, hi, Jake.” David felt his face burn hot, but the focus on his embarrassment fled when he caught Patrick’s expression. Wide eyes and lips in a thin line. Fucking fuck fuck!

  


# # #

  


Patrick tried to listen as some rugged adonis _kissed_ David on the _lips_ , but all he could hear was blood rushing in his ears. Who the hell was this guy? Why did he kiss David? Were they dating? Did David accept the ride with Patrick because this guy was meeting him at the party? There’s no way Patrick could have completely misread the dynamic between he and David. Right? Right?? He may be new to liking men, but he wasn’t new to dating and flirting. There’s no way he’d misread things that much.

He wanted to turn and run. He wanted to get in his car and drive until he ran out of gas. He wanted to toss his phone into the river.

“Okay, we’re not doing that.” David took a step back from the guy. Thank god. Oh, thank god.

The guy looked at Patrick. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you’re here with someone.”

David looked between them, eyebrows climbing. “Oh, um, Patrick? He- we- he.” He took a breath and started over. “He drove us.” David’s hands punctuated his words. “Patrick is the budget manager. We, uh.” He huffed out a breath. “This is Jake. He works at the flagship.”

Patrick wanted to pull David into a hug. Watching him flounder at such a simple question filled Patrick with hope. David could’ve easily said, _Patrick is my coworker._ Or, _I work with Patrick and we’re friends. Hey, want to get out of here? Thanks for the ride, Patrick. See you after our break. Maybe practice axe throwing because your aim is embarrassing_. But he didn’t. He stumbled over his words like he couldn’t find a way to explain Patrick. Maybe because the way he wanted to explain who Patrick was to him didn’t match how he actually could?

Yet.

Jake turned his full attention to Patrick as his smile knocked up a couple of notches. “Hey there. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” He took a step toward Patrick. “Do you like whiskey?”

“I do—“

“Come on, Jake. Let’s go play mini golf,” Stevie’s tone indicated it wasn’t up for discussion.

“You boys want to join?” Jake smiled between them. There was a definite heat behind that smile. Jake was one hell of a good looking guy, but he wasn’t David. “Right, I forgot about last year ago.” Jake clapped David on the shoulder and laughed good-naturedly. “Surprised they let you back in.” Patrick would give anything to see footage of David versus the moose.

“Okay.” David crossed his arms over his chest. “You two have fun.”

“We will.” Stevie looked between David and Patrick pointedly.

They watched Stevie and Jake walk away. When they were out of sight, David turned to Patrick. “Um, sorry about that whole thing,” David said, waving his hand with a flourish.

“I’m disappointed, David.”

David’s entire body tensed and his face dropped.

Patrick reached out and put his hand on David’s arm, and David immediately relaxed. “I’m disappointed I’ve worked here for nearly a year and never received a proper RAY greeting like that. Are the kisses an employee perk after one year’s employment, or do I have to get employee of the month first?”

David’s eyes sparkled as his mouth dropped open. Slowly, oh so slowly, his lips curved into a sexy grin. “Employee of the year has quite the perks.”

Patrick felt loose and flirty. He couldn’t even blame alcohol because he’d only had two drinks over the night since he was driving. It had to be David. David helped him feel bold and daring, or maybe not bold and daring, but closer to that end of the spectrum than he’d been before.

“Dave! I didn’t expect you’d show your face around here after Moosegate.”

David bared his teeth. Patrick turned to look at who David was clearly displeased to see. A mullet. Wow. “Hello, Roland.”

“Oh! Jocelyn’s husband? It’s nice to meet you.” Patrick held out his hand. He’d heard _way_ too much about Roland and putting a face to the uncomfortable and borderline inappropriate stories was a lot. He didn’t really know what he’d expected, and somehow this guy was not at all who he thought and yet exactly who he thought Jocelyn would be married to.

“Who’s this guy, Dave?” Roland and his mullet moved to stand next to David and he crossed his arms. He looked a bit wobbly on his feet and reeked of beer. “And how does he know my wife? Do I need to be worried here?”

“We’re _still_ not doing Dave.” David shifted closer to Patrick. “This is Patrick. He’s the budget manager who joined us in January.”

Roland’s entire demeanor relaxed in a flash. “Pat! Hey, man. Jocelyn raves about you.”

“She does?” Patrick looked at David, who shrugged at him.

“All the time.”

Aww. That’s nice.

“You should come over for meatloaf night sometime, Pat. You too, Dave.”

David was already shaking his head. “I don—“

“Rollie! There you are.” Jocelyn giggled. Her cheeks were a lot redder than usual. “Want to get out of here? I’ve got an early Christmas present for you.” She walked her fingers up Roland’s flannel-clad chest. “The party’s almost over anyway. Let me see if Ronnie’s ready to go.” Jocelyn turned and smiled. “Hi, boys! I didn’t see you there. Hard to notice anyone else when this hunk’s around, huh?” She jerked her thumb toward her husband. “While I find Ronnie, you two make sure this one doesn’t disappear to the bar again. If he has another drink, he won’t stay awake for his present.” She winked, and David made a distressed sound.

“Sure, Jocelyn.” Whatever it took to get them on their merry way so he could get back to hanging out with David. Maybe Stevie could get a ride from Jake so they could be alone. The card he’d bought for David with his final secret Santa gift sat in his glovebox for the drive home so he could finally admit his feelings. He’d hoped doing it after the party would be a good time to do it, and it felt right after they’d had such a great time together.

“Ronnie!” Jocelyn called as Ronnie walked by with a plate of meatballs and cheese. “Are you ready to go?”

Ronnie walked over to them, and she scowled at Patrick. He wished he knew what he’d done to make her hate him. No one had ever hated him before. At least not so openly. “Sorry, I can’t drive you home after all. Ray roped me into help clean up in exchange for getting first crack of vacation days next year. Ronnie caught Patrick’s eye and her slow grin sent a shiver down his spine. “I’m sure Patrick could drive you home. Couldn’t you, Patrick?”

“Ronnie, Patrick is _my_ ride,” David said.

Ronnie snorted. “Take an Uber.”

“Why can’t they take an Uber?” David’s put out tone was so cute.

“Oh, we don’t do the Ubers. Never could figure it out.” Jocelyn shrugged.

Ronnie jerked her head to the side. Patrick shot David a nervous look, then followed her a short distance away.

“I’ll make you a deal,” she said.

“I don’t think you have anything to offer me.” He wanted Ronnie to like him, but he wanted alone time with David more.

She whistled. “Look who grew a backbone.” She popped a piece of cheese in her mouth. “If you take those two home, you can cut my excursion launch budget by ten percent.”

Shit. “You play dirty. Why would you do that?”

“I asked for more than I needed because I know the game.” She shrugged. “I really want first pick at vacation time. It’s certainly not to make your life easier. That’s for damn sure.”

“Fifteen percent.”

“Twelve and a half.”

“Deal.” Patrick held out his hand.

“If those two sit in the back seat, whatever you do, don’t look in the rearview mirror. They get handsy when they drink.”

Patrick grimaced. “Yuck. Thanks for the warning.”

Ronnie popped a meatball in her mouth and walked off. David stared at Patrick with wide eyes as he walked back over. David might be disappointed, but surely he’d be happy when Patrick told him that he’d get a little more in his display budget for summer.

Patrick gave David a closed-mouth smile, then looked at Jocelyn and Roland. “Looks like I’m driving you two home.”

“You got a backseat, Pat?”

He hoped they lived nearby for his own sanity. Jocelyn and Roland snuggled up and started whispering to each other.

“If Stevie can get a ride from Jake, I can still take you.” He looked at David hopefully.

“Um, yeah, okay.” David looked between Patrick and their new passengers, frowning.

“I’ll drop them off first. I’ve been warned not to look at them in the backseat.

“Well _that’s_ disgusting.”

It would be fine. He’d drop them off then he and David could be alone. Four people in the car for a little bit wouldn’t be too— Shit. _Shit._ “Dammit. David, I forgot, one of my backseat seatbelts is broken.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I hadn’t gotten it fixed yet because I rarely have anyone in the car with me.” He couldn’t ask anyone to go without a seatbelt. He’d never forgive himself if something happened.

David’s shoulders dropped. “It’s okay. Stevie and I will catch a ride with Jake or catch an Uber.” He looked disappointed, but not upset. Patrick would take that.

Patrick was disappointed _and_ upset. He’d thought the whole evening of teasing and competition was leading up to something big, something important. But if he could do something to help David with the summer display, he couldn’t turn that down. Their conversation would hold. It’s not like his feelings for David weren going anywhere. It might actually be better to have the conversation after Christmas anyway so the pressure of secret Santa was off. He could text David next week and invite him to coffee and talk about things. Things weren’t off track yet. He’d started the year not knowing David, and he might get to start the next year with David by his side.

“Yeah, okay.” Patrick sighed. “Merry Christmas, David.” He squeezed David’s arm. “I had fun losing to you tonight.”

“Merry Christmas, Patrick. I’ll, um, see you soon? Next Thursday?” The hope in his voice soothed Patrick’s frayed nerves.

“Absolutely. If not before?” He held David’s gaze.

David smiled shyly, and his eyes reflected the hope Patrick felt. They’d get there. “Okay. Drive safe.”

Patrick walked with Roland and Jocelyn to his car. Thankfully, Jocelyn sat in the front seat, and Roland fell asleep almost immediately in the back.

“I knew he’d pass out. He always does after a few beers.” She navigated Patrick toward her house as Roland snored in the backseat.

“Did you have a good time tonight?” He’d talked to a stressed Jocelyn and a tired Jocelyn and an overly friendly Jocelyn, but tipsy Jocelyn was new.

“I did. How about you? You and David looked like you were having fun.” She wiggled her shoulders in a move that reminded him a bit too much of David.

“We did. It’s a great venue for a party.” He didn’t want to talk to Jocelyn about David. Not unless there was anything official to report to HR per the employee dating policy.

“What did you get from your secret Santa?” She sounded almost as excited about that as she had about the kittens on Monday.

He’d been so wrapped up in making sure he executed David’s secret Santa gift perfectly, he’d forgotten he was supposed to get one. “I haven’t gotten one.”

“You haven’t?” She turned toward him in her seat. “Are you sure?”

“I mean, I didn’t see anything at the office before I left yesterday.”

“Oh.” Jocelyn sounded dejected. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“It’s no big deal. I’m really not worried about it.” He smiled to try to ease her mind. He didn’t care at all. He’d always enjoyed giving gifts more than receiving them. Less awkward attention that way.

“Did you give your gift already?”

Patrick cleared his throat. “I did. Yes.”

“Good. That’s good.” She turned to face forward again. “You know, we used to have karaoke at these parties. It was a hoot.” Jocelyn spent the rest of the ride regaling him with stories about RAY Christmas parties of the past. She said there might be a photo of David and the moose floating around somewhere. He’d love to see that.

After he dropped them off with wishes for a merry Christmas and got back to his place, he settled on the couch with a glass of water. Pulling out his phone, he smiled when he saw David’s name.

I hope you’re not scarred from the drive. How’d it go?  
  
Also, I had a lot of fun tonight. Even though you’re a sore loser  
  
[photo of Patrick with his fingers in his hair, scowling after missing the mark when throwing an axe]  
  
If the Elf photo wasn’t still delighting me, I’d make this your new contact icon  
  
Jocelyn sat in the front, thank god. It went fine. Roland snores really loudly. I feel like that alone tells me too much about their bedroom life  
  
Why’d you have to tell me that?  
  
If I have to know it, someone else does too  
  
That’s cruel  
  
That photo is something else. Any other good ones?  
  
Obviously. [series of photos from throughout the night]  
  
Thanks :) I'll win at the rematch  
  
You’re welcome :) And, no, I'm retired. Stevie and I are going to watch The Holiday so I’ll talk to you soon?  
  
You definitely will. Goodnight  
  
Night Patrick  
  



	7. December 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost there! Bless you all who are reading this as a WIP and leaving encouraging comments and dealing with the disjointed bits and sloppy stuff since I'm basically writing a chapter the day before I post it.

David took a long drink of his coffee as he unlocked the front door to the office. Thank god it would be quiet with everyone out for Christmas Eve. He really needed to finish figuring out the adjusted summer displays so he wouldn’t ruin his week off by stressing about it. First order of business on January 2: order the damn supplies.

He walked toward through the dimly lit reception area. The gray day wasn’t doing much to illuminate the space, and it would probably be even darker in his office. He might have to—shudder—turn on the fluorescents. He turned to go down the hallway to his office, but soft music caught his attention in the other direction. Shit. Someone else was there? Ugh. If he got stuck spending half his day talking to Ray, he was going to be so fucking pissed.

The polite thing to do would be alerting the other person he was there so he didn’t unintentionally cause a cardiac arrest. Maybe it was Ronnie. She’d leave him to work in peace. He walked toward the (ugh) Christmas music and saw Patrick’s door open. What in the world was Patrick doing at work on Christmas Eve?! Surely he had a million family members clamoring to spend time with him.

David smoothed out his sweater and ran a hand over his hair to smooth out any misplaced strands before he reached Patrick’s door. Despite the setting for last night’s party, he’d had a fantastic time with Patrick. While trying to fall asleep, he couldn’t stop thinking about how much fun doing things David normally wouldn’t be caught dead adding to the fun column. But with Patrick, everything seemed more palatable.

He couldn’t deny they were on the precipice of something. Even with his carefully honed skills of self-doubt and suspicion, the way Patrick treated him, talked to him, acted around him, burst through his defenses and settled at the gooey core of him. The scary part that wanted someone to like him for who he was, not what he looked like or what he could do in bed or what he could buy. But _him_. Patrick saw him like no one before, and David wanted more. Needed more. He’d gone from his feet firmly planted on the beach of second-guessing his feelings for Patrick and Patrick’s feelings for him to dipping his toe in the waters of maybe Patrick genuinely liked him back to cliff diving in a pool of he wanted something to happen.

He’d never been in that space before. The uncertainty of how things would unfold, but feeling certain _something_ would unfold. He’d spent a lot of time knowing he was on the verge of a hook-up or a break-up of a casual relationship, but this was new and precious and invigorating. He loved it. He craved it.

David approached Patrick’s doorway and waited for Patrick to notice him. The cheery classic Christmas music didn’t match Patrick’s harried demeanor. His hair stood up like he’d been running his hands through it a lot.

Patrick looked up from his monitor. “David! Holy shit!” Patrick clutched his chest. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“To be fair, hearing music playing in an office I expected to be empty may have taken a year or two off my life. Call it even?”

Patrick’s shoulders relaxed and he gave David one of his upside-down smiles. “What are you doing here on a day off?”

“I don’t think I like your tone, Mr. Brewer. It sounds an awful lot like you’re shocked I’d work when I didn’t have to.”

“I mean, it is a holiday.”

David shrugged. “I don’t really do much for Christmas Eve.” Or Christmas. Not with his family spread all over this year.

“So you came to work instead of sprawling on your couch and watching Christmas movies?”

David dropped a hand to his waist. “That might be the plan for tonight. Don’t you have family to visit? I thought they lived a couple hours away.”

Patrick’s smile broadened, like he was surprised David remembered that fact. He remembered everything Patrick told him. “I’m heading to my aunt’s for dinner tonight. She lives about ninety minutes away, but I wanted to do a few things first.”

“A few things.” David rolled his eyes. “What work couldn’t wait until the new year that has you here on a holiday?”

Patrick tilted his head and studied David for a moment. David felt like he was under a microscope. Patrick seemed to make a decision, and he squared his shoulders. “I’m working on a way to give you more of your budget request.”

David clutched the door frame. “Y- you’re what?” That man. That wonderful, glorious man. “On Christmas Eve? Why?” he said on a breath.

Patrick gestured to his guest chair. “I was comparing your budget requests against final expenditures over the last couple of years to see if there are other seasons you end up underspending on so I can adjust my budget for those and shift more money to summer. I found a couple pockets of savings elsewhere that will help. Plus, um, well.” Patrick stalled and looked away.

David gripped the chair as he lowered himself into it, hanging on Patrick’s every word. “Plus?”

Patrick laughed, and his cheeks pinked up a bit. “Ronnie made me a deal last night. If I drove the Schitt’s home, she’d take a budget cut. She must have big plans for those vacation days.”

“You—“ David shook his head. “You made a deal with Ronnie?”

Patrick lifted one shoulder. “It’s no big deal. It doesn’t get you your full request, but I’ve got you up to eighty-seven percent of your request now.”

David felt like the air had been punched from his lungs. His mind swam with such deep affection for Patrick that it scared him. No one had cared that much before. Not just about him, but about what he did and what _he_ cared about. No one had seen value in his work like that. “You made a deal with Ronnie to be able to shift more money to my budget.” He could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth. Best Christmas present ever.

“It’s no big deal. Really.”

“Patrick, that’s a very big deal.” David couldn’t believe this wonderful man. He couldn’t wait any longer. He needed Patrick to know how he felt. He needed to kiss him. Like, now.

Patrick looked down at his hands. “I’m sure it could have waited until after break, but, um, I needed something to take my mind family dinner tonight.”

Something in Patrick’s tone pulled David back from fantasizing about making out with Patrick on his desk. “What has you nervous about dinner?”

His exhale was strained, as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “It’s my first full family appearance since.” Patrick took a deep breath. “Since I came out.” He made eye contact with David. “As gay. I told a few relatives I’m gay after Christmas last year and it spread through the family, but I haven’t seen most of them since.”

All thoughts of kissing Patrick moved firmly to the back burner. Patrick was clearly struggling and David wanted to help. God, he hated seeing Patrick in distress. No, not distress exactly, but deeply uncertain and maybe a little scared. “How do you feel about it?”

“Silly.”

David wasn’t expecting that. “Why do you feel silly?”

“Because I didn’t realize I’m gay until my thirties. Because I realized it before Christmas last year but waited until I didn’t have to see any family members to start telling people. Because my family has been fine about it, but I’m worried they’ll treat me differently tonight. Because I feel guilty for being nervous because my family is pretty loving and I know it could be so much worse.”

David wanted to wrap his arms around Patrick and offer comfort any way he could. “Hey, please don’t feel guilty about that. Sure, there are a lot of people who have terrible experiences, but that doesn’t diminish your own feelings. You didn’t ask to be in the situation you’re in, and you’re doing your best. Your feelings are really fucking valid.”

“Yeah?” Patrick’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“Yes. Absolutely.” David didn’t usually handle serious and sincere conversations well, but this was a topic he could handle. “I think it’s difficult because our sexuality is just one small part of us, but it’s treated like a huge, defining, sometimes controversial thing. It can be hard to reconcile that. A thing that feels like one trait among a million others that makes up a person, but also society makes it one of the biggest things about us.”

Patrick released a harsh breath. “Exactly. I don’t feel like I’m a different person than before I realized I’m gay, but in some ways I feel completely different. I feel more me, but only one thing changed. One piece of my life. A label.”

David nodded. He completely understood. He’d assumed he was gay for much of his teenage years because everyone around him had assumed that. But when he’d realized, and accepted, he liked more than men, it had rocked his world for a while. Luckily he’d been young enough that it hadn’t been hard to adjust. What Patrick’s going through was amazing and difficult.

“Anyway, enough about that.” Patrick’s smile was sweet, grateful.

“Right.” David ran his palms over his thighs. “I’m certainly not going to force you to talk about anything you don’t want to, but call or text me tonight if you need to talk, okay? I’m serious. Coming out is a big deal and I support you in any way you need.”

“Thank you, David. Really.” The sincerity in Patrick’s tone wrapped around David like a warm blanket.

“Mm. Of course.” He crossed one leg over the other. “Funny coincidence. I came in to work on the summer display too. I wanted to see where I could make some changes and reduce expenses.” Patrick’s eyes went wide and his huge smile sent happy little flutters through David’s stomach. “Now don’t get too excited. It’s sounding like I won’t need to.”

Patrick’s mouth twitched. “I don’t think I said that, David. We’re still short money, and if you can make some cuts, that means someone else will get more money.”

David groaned. “You and your altruistic tendencies aren’t very beneficial to me.”

“My altruistic tendencies got you up to eighty-seven percent of your request.” David rolled his eyes in response, but he did offer a small smile. “Let’s see what we can figure out.”

They spent the next couple of hours poring over numbers, discussing David’s plans, brainstorming alternative approaches for David’s ideas, other places to cut money. David couldn’t believe how well they worked together. They crossed paths a fair amount in their work, but they’d never had an opportunity to really dig in and push each other. Their ways of thinking balanced each other better than sea salt and caramel.

He knew Patrick’s job was difficult, but he’d never truly understood just how much until now. He had so many short-term and long-term priorities to juggle, and it was incredible how he managed to keep track of everything. David had barely dipped his toe in it and his head was already spinning.

“I can’t believe we figured this out.” David looked down at the revised budget plan Patrick had printed for them.

“We’re a good team.” Patrick’s voice was soft.

“We are.” He smiled at Patrick. “Do you think I owe Ronnie a thank you gift?”

“Hell no.” David barked out a laugh at Patrick’s immediate response. “I mean, I don’t think bribery deserves to be rewarded.”

“Is it bribery if you agreed to it?” David arched an eyebrow and smirked at Patrick.

“Semantics.” Patrick waved his hand.

David laughed. He felt a buzz in his pocket and pulled out his phone. _Oh my god_. He hadn’t expected to hear back from his person. He hated to leave Patrick, but when the errand was _for_ Patrick, it stung a bit less. “It looks like I’ve got a gift-related errand to run, so I should get going. And it sounds like you’ve got to start heading to your family dinner.”

“A gift-related errand on Christmas Eve? You’re almost as last-minute as me.”

If Patrick only knew. At least now he’d have a secret Santa gift for Patrick when he saw him next week. “Sometimes the stars don’t align until the last minute.” He pinched his smile to the side. If he let it get too big, Patrick might read him and know the gift was for him.

“I think we had a productive day.”

“Me too.” David stood and stretched. His body popped in an embarrassing number of places. When he dropped his arms, he caught Patrick looking at his waistband.

“Merry Christmas, David. It was good to see you today.”

“Merry Christmas, Patrick. Good luck tonight. Seriously, text or call if you need anything.”

“I will. I might even text if I don’t need anything.” Patrick grinned at him.

“I might even text back. If I’m not too busy watching Christmas movies and eating cookies, that is. I’ll see you next week?”

“Absolutely. Maybe, uh, maybe we could get coffee or something?” Patrick looked at him hopefully.

Light exploded inside him. “Yes. Definitely,” he said breathily. “Text me when you’re done with all your family things and we’ll figure something out. I’m sure I can squeeze you in my busy schedule of sleeping and napping and watching TV.”

“I’d be honored.”

David walked toward Patrick’s office door and turned to smile at him again. Soon. They’d figure everything out very soon. Maybe they’d get to ring in the new year with a kiss. He’d better start planning his outfit now.

  


# # #

  


Patrick sat in his car until he could see his breath. If he stalled any longer, his mom would start calling hospitals to see if he’d gotten in an accident. He wished he could slide into the family dinner and fade into the corner until it was over. Or manage to spend the whole time chatting with his favorite cousin who’d been really supportive and stuffing his face with his aunt’s pumpkin pie. He wished he had David by his side. He already felt like he could do anything with David by his side.

It had been a week since he drew David’s name for secret Santa. When he stopped to think about it, they’d come so far in mere days. It’s like they simultaneously decided it was time to take things more seriously. Tis the season. The Patrick of a week ago thought about David just as much as now, but it was shrouded in uncertainty. Deep down, he didn’t really think David would go for a guy like him. Flirting, sure, but an actual relationship? This week he realized they had so much more in common than he realized. He could clearly picture how David fit into his life, the ways they could spend their free time, what it was like to feel David in his arms. He wanted more of that. So much more.

No matter what happened with his family, David would be there. That was the piece that had been missing for him. David teased him and challenged him at work and entertained him and turned him on, but this week he really noticed how they clicked emotionally. Not only could he count on David, he could trust him. It’s like the missing puzzle piece slid into place.

Patrick opened his car door and walked in to greet his family with his head held high. Being one of the last to arrive helped since most of the people crammed in his aunt’s home were already busy in conversations and didn’t hear him arrive over the din. He quickly found his parents and relaxed after their hugs. His mom gave him a knowing and supportive look as they wandered around and chatted with family.

Eventually Patrick needed a break from all the talking and smiling. He slipped down the hallway and to the familiar basement stairs where the cousins used to play as kids. The basement light was already on, and he hoped to find a friendly face.

“Patty! Hey!” His favorite cousin, Mandy, rushed over and wrapped him in a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too.” Now he felt like he could breathe. “Why are you hiding down here?”

“Why are you trying to hide down here?”

Patrick walked over and sat on the couch Mandy had been sitting on. “I asked you first.”

“This place hasn’t changed at all, huh?” She sat next to him and tucked her knees up against her chest. “Same couch, same bean bag chair, same weird smell.”

“Same stalling tactics. Are you okay?” Mandy had been like a sister to him since he was a kid.

“Can get anything past you.” She draped her arms over her knees. “The first Christmas without Todd is weird. Becks is with his family tonight.”

Patrick wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “How are you holding up?”

“Most of the time, fine. Divorce was the right call for us otherwise we would have grown to hate each other. We’re still friends and I think able to support Becks the way she needs, but if one more relative makes a pitying comment or asks about Todd, I’m going to lose my fucking shit.”

Patrick couldn’t help but laugh. Mandy cussed even less than he did. “I promise I won’t ask about him. How’s Becks?” He hadn’t seen Mandy’s daughter in months. She was a great kid. Teen. Jeez. He was old enough for his cousin to have a teenager.

“She basically parents Todd and I. I’d think it was cute if I wasn’t concerned about screwing her up for life. Sometimes I can’t wrap my mind around the fact I’m old enough and allegedly mature enough to raise another human. That’s so much pressure.”

“I think the fact you’re worried about screwing her up puts you ahead of a lot of people on that front.”

“You’re such a brightsider, but I’ll take it.” Mandy dropped her legs and turned to face Patrick in a flash. “Oh! I meant to call you a couple of weeks ago, but holidays and stuff. Becks sat Todd and I down to tell us she thinks she might be bi.”

Patrick blinked at her. “Wow, good for her.” He wished he’d started to figure himself out that young. “That’s amazing she felt comfortable enough to talk to you both about it. You must be doing something right.”

Mandy squeezed his shoulder. “I have you to thank, Patty.”

“What do you mean you have me to thank?”

“She told me a few days later that she felt comfortable because you’d come out and she didn’t have the pressure of being the first in the family. Thank you for that. You’ve made a big impact on her.”

Patrick blinked back the tears stinging the corners of his eyes. “Sh-she said that? About me?” The guy who didn’t figure out he was gay until his thirties and after a decade-plus relationship with a woman. A queer role model? Impossible.

“She looks up to you for some stupid reason. You’re a mess,” Mandy teased. “I can’t imagine coming out has been easy.”

It hadn’t been hard, though. People had been accepting, even encouraging much of the time. “I’ve had it easy.”

“Patty, you were with Rachel for a third of your life and were on track to marry her, then realized you’re gay. Not to mention having to tell everyone who ever knew you were with Rachel about why you’re not together any longer or why you’re bringing a guy around someday. That’s not easy.”

He let out a breath. “I guess you’re right. I’m grateful people have been good about it, but I can’t help but worry about people thinking of me differently.”

She wrapped an arm around his waist. “You’re still the same sore loser with terrible taste in beer. People won’t think of you differently. As long as you don’t bring home a Yankees fan, it’ll be fine.”

Patrick laughed. “I wouldn’t dare.”

“You lit up. Why’d you light up? Wait, are you _dating_ someone and you didn’t tell me?” She pinched at his sides. “Holding out on me, you little shit!”

“No! No.” He batted her hands away and exhaled. “Fine. There’s someone I like and I want to date him, but we’re not dating.”

“Why not?”

“Because I keep trying to talk to him and either I put it off or something happens. I’m doing it next week.”

“Tell. Me. Everything.” She dropped her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her palms. The pose took him back to when they were little kids sharing secrets and playground gossip.

Patrick started talking about David and couldn’t stop. He told her about the day they’d met, how they became friends, how his feelings grew. He told her about secret Santa and his plan to woo David. The week they’d had with their almost moments. She aww’d in all the right places.

“This guy sounds amazing.”

He let out a happy sigh. “He is. He really is.”

“No offense to Rachel, but you were never this swoony over her. I like this for you.”

“I like this for me too. I just need to talk to him. I think we’re both on the same page.”

“I can’t wait to meet him.” She laughed at what must have been panic written all over his face. “I’ll give it a couple of weeks before I force your guy to start meeting your family.”

“Gee, thanks. That’s comforting.”

“Got a photo? I want to see the guy who makes my cousin blush like a schoolgirl.”

Patrick pulled his phone from his pocket. As soon as the screen turned on, he saw a text from David.

Was just thinking about you and hope it’s going okay.  
  


“Is that him? You’re smiling pretty big right now, and given how big you usually smile, it’s a lot. Like, I’m scared your face might crack.”

“Yeah, it’s him.” David was thinking about him and sent a text to tell him so. Patrick felt like he was floating. “Here. These are from our company Christmas party last night.” He opened his new folder with photos from the Night Market and party. If Mandy noticed he had them in a special folder, she had the grace not to tease him about it.

“Patty! He’s a fucking babe! Holy shit.”

“Since when do you cuss so much?”

“Since you’re about to have the hottest partner in the entire extended Brewer clan. Way to get it.”

“I haven’t gotten it yet.”

“You will. You’re a catch. But damn. I’m single now too and I can’t say I wouldn’t go for it.”

“I saw him first. Back off.”

She punched his shoulder. “Fine. Keep the hottie for yourself.”

He and Mandy eventually made their way back upstairs for dinner and the white elephant exchange. While everyone’s attention was occupied on the game, and since there were still ten turns ahead of him, he texted David.

Thanks for texting. It’s going really well. No one’s said anything and people aren’t treating me any differently. Except instead of the “when are you going to marry Rachel” questions, I’m getting “when are you going to bring a nice guy home.” They’re always wanting something.  
  
I mean, you can’t blame them for asking. It’s a fair question  
  


Patrick’s heart pounded as he tapped a reply.

Is it? Do I know any nice guys?  
  
Most people think Ray’s a nice guy. I’m sure he’d love to meet your family. Would probably bring a nice homemade dish too  
  
My family would love Ray.  
  
What would you bring to meet someone’s family?  
  
Other than my winning personality and sassy attitude? Wine and cheese. Can’t go wrong  
  
And if the family can’t eat dairy?  
  
More cheese for me. It would put me in a good mood and amplify my winning personality  
  
You think of everything  
  
I know  
  


Patrick bit his lip as he contemplated his next text. David offered to be there, and Patrick wanted to take him up on it.

My favorite cousin told me her daughter came out to her recently. She told her mom that since I came out, she felt more comfortable doing it. I’m still sort of processing it  
  
Patrick! OMG! That’s incredible!! I’m so proud of you. Helping create space in your family for others to be themselves is incredible. Truly  
  
Thank you. Thanks for letting me talk to you about it  
  
You can talk to me about anything  
  
I appreciate that  
  
Except right now. You’re ignoring your family on a holiday  
  
yeah yeah. Have a good night. I’ll see you soon?  
  
You will. Have a good night :)  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PROMISE THE SLOW BURN ENDS TOMORROW! I PROMISE! I know it's a lot of words of slow burning madness, but I figure I can torture them for 8 days in their world ;) 
> 
> The main story ends tomorrow and on Saturday I'll post a fun little epilogue.
> 
> I also didn't really intend to add a coming out element to this story, but here we are. It's one of my Patrick jams.
> 
> For those who celebrate, I hope you're having a great Christmas eve! For those who don't, I hope you're having a great Thursday!


	8. December 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY/HAPPY CHRISTMAS! These two knuckleheads finally got their shit together. This chapter is nearly 6k of tenderness and gestures and ridiculousness and super duper Christmas sappiness. 
> 
> I adore you all for sticking through this WIP and cheering me on as I wrote/published quickly. I'm still catching up on replying to Frozen Over comments and haven't replied to ones for this fic yet, but please know I've read every one and they have given me so much happiness this week. Thank you!! <3
> 
> And to those of you who don't read WIPs (I am among you) and arrived here after it's all posted, I hope you enjoyed the 8 days of Christmas goofiness with David and Patrick! 
> 
> Tomorrow is a fun little office epilogue, but today's chapter concludes the main story.
> 
> I hope you're having a fabulous day, wherever you are and whatever you're doing!

David should’ve brought an umbrella with him to protect his hair. In the twenty or so minutes he’d been pacing outside of Patrick’s apartment, the snow began falling quickly, doing its damnedest to ruin David’s careful styling. He needed to go up to Patrick’s apartment or leave before his hair became unfixable without tools and the rest of his clothes matched the large, white lightning bolt on the front of his sweater.

He was close. So. Close. One little text to ask Patrick to let him up was all he needed to do. One text. A few words. A simple question. _Hey Patrick, I’m creepily standing outside your apartment and see your car is here. Can I come up to talk to you about something important? Something that could probably wait until a day that you’re not busy with family obligations, but I’m impatient and once I’ve decided something, I can’t wait._ Or something like that. It’s a bit wordy.

It’s not just that David was impatient, but David _adored_ big romantic gestures. After watching the fourth Christmas rom-com in a row last night, he realized he didn’t need to sit back and passively wait for one. He controlled his destiny and could make the big rom-com moment happen for himself. For Patrick.Patrick deserved romance as much as he did.

So, there he was, about to forever change his and Patrick’s relationship for better or worse. Hopefully for better. Please, god, let it be for better. His phone buzzed in his hand, pulling him from his spiraling thoughts.

_Patrick: Merry Christmas! Any chance you’re home? I want to deliver something._

David’s heart leapt into his throat. Patrick wanted to see him. Could- could it be for the same reason? Did he have a Christmas gift for David? Okay. _Okay_. It’s fine. It’s happening. It’s fine. It’s time. He’s fine. It’s fine. Everything is fine.

_David: I’m not home at the moment_

_Patrick: Will you be soon? I’m heading to my parents’ in a bit. I could swing by after_

David looked up when he heard the front door to Patrick’s apartment building open. “No need to swing by after.”

Patrick’s head snapped in David’s direction. The enormous smile that took over Patrick’s face left David weak in the knees. “David. You’re here.” He sounded uncertain of whether David was real or a figment of his imagination. Patrick made it to David in three big steps. He stopped just short of David. Standing closer than he usually would, but not as close as David wanted him. “Why are you here?”

David looked into Patrick’s kind, loving eyes. His body language was so open and inviting, even more than usual. David could nearly see the thread of his rapid heartbeat thundering beneath his skin and the quick rise and fall of his chest. The eagerness Patrick exuded helped David find the missing strand of confidence.

It was time. No more delaying. No more excuses. He didn’t want Christmas to end without Patrick knowing exactly how David felt about him.

“Hi. Merry Christmas.”

Patrick laughed. “Merry Christmas, David. Are you going to tell me why you’re lurking outside of my apartment building like some sort of pervert?”

“Excuse you! I am not a Christmas pervert.”

“More of a Thanksgiving pervert then? Or maybe you’re a present thief.”

“If I’m a present thief, then why did I come here to _deliver_ a present to you?”

Patrick’s eyes twinkled. “A present, huh?”

David inhaled deeply through his nose and out his mouth. “I was at home listening to my divas Christmas playlist,double-fisting sugar cookies. Nope. That’s not important to the story. Forget that.” He waved his hand as though he could wipe the words from Patrick’s memory. “Kelly Clarkson’s modern classic _Underneath the Tree_ came on.” David rubbed his thumb against the velvet in his pocket and looked down. “I was sitting there thinking about you while Kelly’s powerhouse voice sang about being alone on Christmas and how it just didn’t feel right without someone special.” He looked back up at Patrick. “I sat there without you and couldn’t wait another day to tell you how important you are to me. I couldn’t wait until coffee this week or Thirst Thursday or whatever.”

David’s hand shook as he clutched the velvet in his pocket. Patrick’s eyes grew impossibly huge, like he absorbed David’s affection through those honey-whiskey pools. David pulled on the joy Patrick radiated to push himself the final few steps for the ridiculous gesture. In the daylight with Patrick in front of him, it seemed stupid. Juvenile. But he’d come too far to stop now. He pulled the velvet, red bow from his pocket and watched Patrick’s face as he placed the bow on his snow-damp hair.

“I drew you in secret Santa, and I’ve been stressing all week while I tried to figure out what to get you.” David sucked in a breath. “Here I am. Standing outside your apartment like a present creeper.” He squeezed his eyes closed. “Giving myself to you for Christmas.” He winced. “I can’t believe I just said that out loud. This sounded so much better in my head.” He cracked one eye open. “This is why I should _receive_ romantic gestures, not make them! It’s dumb. This is dumb.”

Patrick’s eyes glistened as he laughed out a sob. “Wait here.” Patrick turned away and rushed over to his car.

“What?! Did you hear what I said?” Is he fucking kidding right now? Literally presenting himself to Patrick and he turns and runs away? 

Patrick stopped next to the driver’s door of his car and looked back at David. “Trust me, okay?”

“Okay,” David said softly. The nerves bubbling up his throat to choke him as Patrick ran away dissipated at the wink he sent David. Patrick bent over his front seat to reach for something, and, well, with a view like that? Merry Christmas to David.

A few moments later, Patrick returned to David, clutching an envelope. The snow began collecting on Patrick’s toque, reminding David he had a stupid bow on his head. He left it when he caught Patrick smiling at it. “This is for you.”

David let the straps of the gift bag he’d been clutching slide over his wrist so he could open the envelope. Whatever was inside had Patrick practically vibrating in his ugly hiking boots. Sliding his finger under the flap of the red envelope, he pulled out a familiar card. His head snapped up. “It’s you.” Of course it had. Who else knew David that well and cared enough to show it through a week of gifts?

Patrick’s shining smile could melt all the snow in Canada. “Open it.”

One of the fat snowflakes falling around them landed on the card, and he quickly tried to bat it away so this soon-to-be keepsake didn’t get damaged. Patrick tented his hands over the card like the knight in snow-stopping armor he was.

_David,_

_Surprise! I’m your secret Santa. There are some things I’d like to say, and I’d love it if you joined me for dinner so we can talk about them. Spoiler: they are romantic things, in case that impacts your decision on the dinner invite._

_Patrick_

David laughed as he read Patrick’s words. He unfolded the paper inside the card to see a handwritten voucher. _This voucher entitles David Rose to a candlelit dinner at the home of Patrick Brewer. Menu to be determined and approved by both parties. No expiration date (but a dessert will be offered as a bonus if voucher is redeemed before the end of the current calendar year)._

When he looked up at Patrick, the man who had been occupying his thoughts and dreams for the better part of the year, looked blurry through the tears in David’s eyes. “You like me back?”

“David.” Patrick stepped closer and slid his arms around David’s waist. The snow fell in earnest around them, sticking to Patrick’s eyelashes. “I just want you for my own. More than you could ever know. Make my wish come true. All I want for Christmas is you.”

“Are you kidding me right now? Did you just sing Mariah to me?” He’d never admit it, but Patrick gave Mariah a run for her money. “You can _sing?_ How have we never gone to karao—“ David was rudely interrupted by Patrick’s lips. Rude was the wrong word. Finally. _Finally_ was the word he wanted.

David cupped the back of Patrick’s head and never wanted to let go. The cool air around them made the heat of where his body touched Patrick’s that much hotter. The softness of Patrick’s lips sent David’s pulse racing. He’d had a thousand first kisses, but none of them left him breathless and desperate like this. Especially not one so chaste. One small taste and he already knew he’d never get enough of Patrick Brewer. Their lips slotted against each other perfectly, and Patrick’s fingers tickled at the base of David’s neck, under his scarf. It’s like his DNA was programmed to respond to Patrick’s touch, and he’d finally fulfilled his mission. Or started his mission.

When Patrick pulled back, his eyes were still closed as he smiled brightly. “I’d love to go to karaoke with you.”

“I can’t believe you sang Mariah to me.” David wrapped his arms over Patrick’s shoulders. The gift bag rested against Patrick’s back.

“I can’t believe you put a bow in your hair and are letting snow fall on it.”

“I can always fix my hair, but this moment only happens once.” He cringed. Like, full body cringed.

“Wow, David.”

“Nope. I know. Don’t say it.”

“I mean, I know you’re going for a big romantic moment, but _wow_. How many Christmas rom-coms have you watched? That’s—“

David turned his face toward the sky and squeezed his eyes closed. “Nope. Yup. Pretty sure I said not to say anything.”

Patrick kissed his neck. “You can say cheesy romantic lines to me any time you want to. I promise I’m a receptive audience.”

“Mm. I like the neck kissing. More of that, please.”

Patrick kissed the other side, lingering for a moment. “What’s in the bag?”

“Hmm?”

“The bag against my back.”

“Oh!” David pulled back, so damn reluctantly because oh my _god_ Patrick Fucking Brewer was _kissing his neck_ with snow falling around them. Living in their own Christmas snow globe for the moment. “In case plan A for my secret Santa gift didn’t work out, I had a plan B. Or the rest of the gift if plan A succeeded.”

“I’d call plan A a home run.”

“A what?”

“A success, David. It’s a success.”

David handed the bag to Patrick and pressed his lips between his teeth and watched Patrick shift the red tissue paper to the side and pull out the white box. David took back the bag so Patrick had both hands free. “I know you love hiking and all that outdoorsy stuff. And what you said the other night about the nutcrackers, I just. Well. I had to get you one. You made that tradition sound so important, and I thought I could help you start your own collection.” David stopped his rambling.

Patrick traced his fingertip over the Blue Jays baseball hat and down the hiking backpack slung over the back of the nutcracker. “How did you get this? I was with you the whole time at the Night Market.” His voice was filled with wonder.

“Um, I found the vendor on Instagram and DM’d them with a moderately frantic message about how I’m trying to win this guy I really care about and your whole nutcracker story. I said I couldn’t get there the next night because of the work party, and wanting to spend time with said guy.” David pinched his smile to the side. “This artist must be a sucker for romance because he arranged to meet me yesterday on his way out of town for Christmas. That’s why I had to leave the office.”

He’d barely gotten the words out when Patrick’s free hand wrapped around the back of David’s head and he slammed their lips together. Far from as chaste as their first kiss. Kiss number two held eleven months of pent-up feelings. Patrick’s tongue teased at the seam of David’s lips, so he opened willingly and sighed into the kiss. Into the feel of Patrick’s warmth surrounding him. The bow slipped off his head as he held on and tried to give as good as he got.

Their kiss eventually slowed and pulled broke apart. “I can’t believe you did this for me. All of this.” Patrick rubbed his thumb across David’s cheek. “I love the gifts. Both of them.”

“That’s good because there’s a firm no returns policy.”

“I can live with that.” Patrick pressed a quick kiss to David’s lips. He’d often wondered whether Patrick would be openly affectionate, and he was thrilled with how that was shaping up.

David fixed Patrick’s scarf. “Thank you so much for my gifts. I kept thinking how well my secret Santa knew me. Of course it was you. You’re the most thoughtful person I know.”

Patrick shrugged. “You inspire me.”

“I’d, um, I’d like to redeem the dinner voucher for tomorrow night, if that works for you.”

“I think I can pencil you in,” Patrick said. That time David leaned in to kiss him first. Four kisses. He’d kissed Patrick Brewer four times.

“You should text me when you get back from Christmas with your family so we can iron out that menu. I have high hopes for your cooking skills.”

Patrick looked in David’s eyes, and David could see him deciding something. “Do you have plans today?”

“Other than drinking the nice bottle of Syrah I’ve been saving and smiling like an idiot the rest of the day because the guy I like likes me back? Nope. Not even Stevie’s shit can bring me down today.”

Patrick carefully put the lid back on the nutcracker box and put the back back in the gift bag. He grabbed David’s hand and interlaced their fingers. “Will you come to Christmas with me? It’s at my parent’s house and I promise you’ll have full access to any and all embarrassing childhood photos. It’ll only be a couple dozen people.”

“Oh, only a couple dozen? A breeze.” David’s stomach twisted. Too soon. That’s too soon. Having dinner at Patrick’s was one thing, but meeting his family already? No way Patrick could be that certain about him this quickly.

“So, David,” Patrick said patiently. “I can read on your face that you’re panicking a bit.”

“I’m not panicking. Why would I be panicking?” As soon as he noticed his arms flailing around, he stilled them. “Not panicking.”

“Sure. Mildly concerned then. Are you thinking it’s too soon to meet my family?”

David shook his head, then nodded, then moved his head in some sort of shake-nod-circular motion. “Yes. Okay, yes. Isn’t that weird? You went to Christmas Eve dinner as single as Alexis pretends to be on every vacation with her girlfriends and show up today with a- an- um dating someone? That’s weird, right?”

Patrick looked at David like he completely expected each and every one of those words to come out of his mouth, and he already had a soothing counter-argument for each one. “I don’t think any of my family members would bat an eye if I showed up with a gorgeous guy at my side.” The look Patrick gave him melted David to his bones. “It’s not like we just met and I’m already inviting you to meet my family. We’ve been close for quite a while now.” He looked down and smiled. “I’ve liked you for so long, and I’m tired of being- being hesitant, I guess.” David wondered if the thin layer of snow was enough to cushion his fall if he swooned. “I’d want you to meet my family whether or not this happened today.” He gestured between them, as though he were nervous to put a label on it too.

“Would your parents be upset if you brought some new guy you haven’t even been on a date with to family Christmas?”

Patrick’s expression was patient and teasing. How Patrick managed that particular combination befuddled David. “I think we can both acknowledge that the Night Market was definitely a date.”

“Was it?”

“Despite your unwillingness to call it that when you invited me out? Yes.”

David bit his lip. Patrick’s sass _really_ worked for him. Really really worked for him. God, he couldn’t wait to see if he was just as sassy in the bedroom.

“And, my parents know about you.” The only acknowledgement Patrick gave that he noticed David’s obvious shock was with a tiny uptick in his smile. “They’ve known about you for a while because I talk about you and Stevie and my life here.” Patrick scratched the top of his toque. “I may have told them about my plan to woo you with secret Santa gifts.”

“To woo me.”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

David scoffed. “You gave me those Night Market tickets hoping I’d invite you.”

“Absolutely.”

“I feel manipulated, but I’ll allow it.”

“At least I gave my secret Santa gifts during the allotted window.”

David shifted his weight to one foot and leveled a faux annoyed look at Patrick. “Are you seriously giving me shit about my gifts right now? Because I can take them back.”

“You said no returns.”

“You’re lucky I put some thought into it and didn’t just show up with my dick in a box.”

Patrick’s pupils widened. “If you haven’t gotten me a Boxing Day gift, I’dsay that’s a damn great one.”

David’s mouth fell open. “Patrick Brewer, are you hitting on me?”

“With every fiber of my being, yes.” Kiss number five wasn’t fit for a public sidewalk, but David couldn’t muster up enough energy to care because he had Patrick’s tongue in his mouth and hand in his back pocket.

When they broke the kiss, thanks to a very rude wolf-whistle, Patrick’s cheeks were red and lips puffy. So damn hot.

“About Christmas? If you’re not comfortable, you can come as my friend. I’ve brought friends home with me for holidays over the years when people didn’t have other plans.

“Collecting strays, then?”

“Spreading the Brewer Joy is how I like to think of it.”

“The Brewer Joy sounds like a holiday movie with too much caroling.”

“I’m not going to lie and say that’s off the mark.”

“Oh, god. I’m not going to have to sing, am I?”

“You get a pass your first year at a Brewer family Christmas.”

David wrapped his arms around Patrick’s neck. “First year, huh?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Okay, I accept your invitation on one condition.”

“You could ask me for anything right now and I’d find a way to give it to you.”

David groaned. “You can’t say things like that when we have to go places where other people are.” He focused on the cool snowflakes hitting his cheeks and the backs of his hands. “We need to swing by my place first so I can fix this.” He pointed to his hair. “And grab the Syrah and some cheese.” Thank god he always had a supply of the good cheese hiding in a tofu box in the back of his and Stevie’s fridge.

# # #

If it wasn’t snowing, Patrick would have held David’s hand the entire thirty minute drive, but he needed to keep a firm grip on the steering wheel. He couldn’t let anything happen to them right as things were finally going.

Them. Together. They were a together now.

“Are you sure you want to introduce me to your family?”

Patrick glanced over to see David worrying his bottom lip. “I’m absolutely certain. I’m proud of who I am, and I’m proud of who you are.” He smiled a little to himself. “And I’m definitely proud of the hot guy I snagged. Is it wrong of me to want to show you off.”

When Patrick looked back at David, he found David staring at him with a sweet smile on his face. “It’s unnerving how you know exactly what to say to me. I like it.”

“Good because the words sort of fall out of my mouth.”

He parked on the side of the street a few houses down from his childhood home and they both got out of the car. Patrick offered his hand. “Ready?”

“With you by my side? Always.”

Patrick bent over and laughed at the way David’s face twisted up. “You’re really crushing it with these lines today. Is this something I have to look forward to?”

“No! Absolutely not. I’m getting caught up in the emotionality of the holiday and all of this.” He waved a hand around them both. “I swear I’m not this sappy.”

“You’re totally sappy.”

“ _Okay._ I’m sappy in my head, but my filter usually keeps this shit in check. I don’t appreciate being ridiculed in a moment of weakness.”

“Sorry, David.” Patrick kissed him because he couldn’t stop himself now that they were people who kissed each other.

“You don’t sound a bit sorry.” David glare held no bite.

David didn’t drop Patrick’s hand when they went inside the house. He’d never felt more proud than in that moment. Mandy spotted him and smiled, then looked at David and she looked confused. As her gaze dropped to their joined hands, she beamed at him and rushed over.

“Patty! Damn, you work fast.” She pulled him into a hug and he dropped David’s hand to hug her back. “When I said I wanted to meet him, I didn’t think you’d make it happen so quickly. You always were efficient.” Mandy turned to David. “You must be David.”

“I am. Are you Mandy?”

Her smile grew even wider. “The one and only. Patrick’s favorite cousin and the person who has all the deepest and darkest secrets on him.”

“So, my new best friend?”

“Exactly.” The conspiratorial smiles David and Mandy shared filled Patrick with so much joy it nearly burst out of him.

“Hey Patty, weren’t you single last night? Did you stop by the store and pick yourself up a boyfriend?”

Patrick’s snarky aunt strode over. “Hi Aunt Beth. Yes, I was, but I got my Christmas wish.” He wrapped an arm around David and looked up at him. David rewarded him with the sweetest blush.

“Beth, you leave my sweet boy alone.” Patrick’s mom walked over and took in the pair of them.

“I am not going to pass up a chance to tease my favorite nephew.”

A couple of Patrick’s cousins in earshot spoke up. “Yeah, yeah, you’re all my favorite.” Aunt Beth waved a hand. “Welcome to the family.” She shook David’s hand.

“David.” His mom said David’s name with reverence. “I’m so happy to meet you. I’m Patrick’s mom.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Brewer.” He held out his hand.

“Please call me Marcy, dear.” She pulled him into a hug, and Patrick grabbed the wine and cheese from David before they fell to the ground. Seeing his mom immediately and openly accept Patrick’s whatever-David-was melted away all of the remaining fear about coming out to his family. He was so grateful for his parents, for David, for Ray’s ridiculous secret Santa activity. For all of it.

“David, let me get you a drink. You’re going to need it to get through all of this.” Mandy pulled David toward the kitchen, and David looked over his shoulder, smiling softly.

“He’s lovely, honey. Handsome too.” Patrick’s mom patted his cheek.

Patrick laughed. “He really is.”

“Sounds like you had a busy day already.” His mom’s smile creased well-worn paths at her eyes.

He gave his mom a quick run-down of what had happened, and her eyes grew wet and smile impossibly wide.

“I’m so happy. There’s a lightness about you.”

“Yeah?” A breath shuddered through him. It shocked him to realize how happy he could be. It’s not that he’d been particularly unhappy, but how he felt now forced him to reconfigure the edges of his happiness scale.

She hugged him again. “Let’s go introduce David to your father.”

The next little while was a blur of introducing David to most of the family. His dad and David bonded over their strong and shared opinions about holiday food. He should’ve known they’d bond over food. David charmed them all with ease, finding something to connect with each person on. Through it all, the fond smiles and happy looks he and David sent each other had Patrick itching to get David alone. Maybe they could shift the candlelit dinner to tonight, or maybe he could get David to stay over and he could make them breakfast.

“Want a photo tour and see my trophies?” Patrick wrapped his arm around David’s waist and kissed his cheek.

“I thought you’d never ask. Lead the way.”

They slowly worked through the hallway, walls covered with framed annual school photos, baseball team photos, family vacations, graduations, a couple of him and Rachel. His mom had offered to take them down, but Rachel was as much a part of their memories and childhood as his. David asked polite questions about her, and it was nice to talk openly about his past with no judgment or jealousy from David. He eagerly absorbed every story Patrick offered. All the wins and injuries and happy memories.

“Look at your rosy little cheeks and huge eyes. You were adorable.” They stopped at the top of the stairs, and David ran his finger gently along the frame.

“Were? What am I now? Chopped liver?” Patrick had teased David enough to know the rolodex of expressions he could expect David to select from. He hadn’t counted on a new rolodex now that they were together. _Heated_ expressions.

“Now? You’re sexy. Very, very sexy.” David’s eyes darkened as he leaned in to kiss Patrick.

“Want to see my bedroom?” he croaked out, voice cracking like he was a teenager all over again.

“Patrick, are you trying to make out with me in your childhood bedroom?”

He answered by pushing a laughing David down the hallway and into the second door on the left.

“You weren’t kidding about the trophies.”

“I never kid about trophies, David. I think you know my competitive side by now.”

“Want a trophy for last place in the RAY Christmas Party Games Competition at Happy Fun Center?”

“How much did it hurt to say all those things?”

David attempted a stern look. “A great deal, except for the last place part. That felt really good to say. You should get me a first place trophy.”

“Depends. What else are you good at?” Patrick crowded David against his dresser and wrapped his arms around David’s waist. His arms fit there perfectly, belonged there.

“So many things, Patrick.” David pulled back the collar of Patrick’s shirt to kiss the juncture of his neck and shoulder. That simple kiss sent shockwaves through him, like David found and pressed Patrick’s pleasure button. If he felt that good from a kiss, he wasn’t sure he’d survive going further with David. But what a way to go.

“I bet I could get you off in under sixty seconds.” David kissed the other side, and Patrick felt the tip of David’s tongue join the kiss.

“Is it really a bet if I’m rooting for you to win?”

David’s hot breath tickled Patrick’s neck as he kissed underneath his ear. “Then I guess the bet is if you can make me come that fast too.”

“Accepted. Are we doing this now?” Patrick slid his fingers through the short hairs at the back of David’s head.

“No way. Not in your parent’s home on the first day I met them. Going to make you wait for this one.”

“Sounds like we have dessert figured out for tomorrow.”

“Sex is never a replacement for dessert.” David kissed him, and wow, smiling into a kiss was a new experience. He couldn’t remember the last time, if ever, he was so consumed with the want to kiss. With the joy of being so damn happy to be kissing someone that he couldn’t contain it.

“Let’s head back downstairs before your family thinks we’re up to something.”

“One more kiss. We’ve got months to make up for.”

“ _Later_.” David kissed him again anyway. “Promise. Later.”

Patrick stepped back and grabbed David by the hand. “It’s probably about time for gifts anyway.”

David’s eyes went wide. “I don’t have anything for your parents!”

“Hey.” He put his hands on David’s shoulders. “Hey. You didn’t know you were coming over here until a couple of hours ago. Why would you have anything for them? And you brought wine and cheese. It’s okay.”

David nodded, then he looked at Patrick with a wicked smile on his face. “I’ll have to plan ahead for next year.” David turned and walked out. He’d have to get used to David dropping lines like that.

“Hey Becks!” Patrick spotted his cousin coming out of the upstairs bathroom. “When did you get here?” He pulled her into a tighter hug than usual. She squeezed him back with more force than normal.

“Dad dropped me off a few minutes ago.” The puffy redness around her eyes gave her away. Her first Christmas splitting time between both her parents’ families had to be tough.

“You’re just in time for presents.” He wrapped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her tight against him. “Becks, I’d like you to meet my- uh, my-“

“Hi Becks.” He gave Patrick a teasing look before shaking Becks’ hand. “I’m Patrick’s David.”

She laughed. “I’m his favorite cousin. My mom thinks it’s her, but I know Patrick likes me better.”

“I definitely like you better, but you’d better not tell her that. She’ll make my life hell.”

David pointed to her jacket. “I like your pin.”

Patrick looked down and saw a flag with pink, purple and blue stripes.

“Oh, thanks. Mom gave it to me today.” She looked down and her pale cheeks flushed pink.

“I have a pan one at home that I got at Pride this year. I should wear it out more.”

“Yeah? You’re pan?”

David nodded. “It took me a bit to figure that out. I thought I was gay through most of high school, but then I met a girl I liked and here we are.” He gestured down his body. “Sexuality is such a wild ride, you know?”

The laugh Becks let out sounded older than her teenage years. “Yeah. I’d love to go to pride this year.”

“Maybe you can join David and I next year. I haven’t been to one yet either.” Patrick felt Becks relax under his arm, and he sent David a grateful smile. “Want to go steal some sugar cookies before Uncle Roger eats them all?”

“He always eats the cookies.” She groaned and walked down the stairs.

Patrick pulled David into a hug. “Thank you.”

“She seems like a great kid. She’s lucky to have you.”

He’s lucky to have David.

By the time the family settled to open presents, half of Patrick’s family had pulled him aside to say how happy they were for him. His heart swelled large enough to fill his whole chest as he basked in their support and acceptance. David stood behind Patrick in the archway to the living room while the youngest kids in the family passed the presents out. Opening gifts at a Brewer family Christmas was a frantic and casual affair. No rotations so the room could ooh and ahh over everyone opening things one at a time, but a free-for-all, and Patrick loved it.

Patrick had a couple of gifts at his feet and unwrapped the one in his hand. David hooked his chin over Patrick’s neck and made a happy sound when Patrick pulled a box of fancy salts and seasonings out of the paper.

“Yum. You’ll have to use these when you cook me dinner tomorrow.”

Little Kaity walked up with a small gift and handed it to David. “This one’s for you. I like your sweater.”

Patrick sensed David straighten behind him. “Oh. Well. Thank you. I like your dress. The ruffles are very pretty.”

She did a spin and a curtsy. “Thank you.” Kaity rushed away to grab another gift from under the tree.

“Is this from you?”

Patrick turned toward David. “No. Must be my parents?”

“But you said they didn’t know I was coming.”

“I didn’t even know you were coming until the invitation fell out of my mouth. But my mom is pretty crafty, so I wouldn’t be surprised she pulled something together. Open it.”

David carefully slipped his finger under the flap at the back. Patrick wished he’d been able to see David open his secret Santa gifts. He was meticulous with everything and opening a gift was no exception. David pulled out a white box and looked up at Patrick again. He bit his bottom lip and lifted the lid, revealing a folded piece of paper. “Is this where you get your ideas from?”

Patrick laughed. “Probably. What is it?”

David unfolded it, tilted his head back, and laughed brightly at the photo tucked in the folded paper. “Oh, _my_ god. Is this for me? How old are you here?”

“Probably ten or so? That looks like my little league uniform.”

David flipped it over and read the stats on the back of the photo card. “This is incredible.” Patrick would have thought giving David a photo of Patrick from decades before they knew each other would be weird, but David was obviously completely delighted by it. “I love it.”

“There’s something else on the paper.” Patrick hadn’t notice his mom approach. She winked at Patrick when David flipped it over and began reading.

“Tickets to the Valentine’s Night Market? Thank you, Mrs. Bre- Marcy!”

“Patrick mentioned he had a great time with you there last week, and I know they sell out fast. I added the photo because we had extras and you seemed to enjoy looking at the ones on the walls.”

Damn. His mom was good. He spotted the timestamp on the printed receipt. She'd snuck away less than an hour ago to do it.

“I love it. Thank you.”

His mom pulled David into a hug. “Merry Christmas, dear.”

“Merry Christmas.” David clutched the gift to his chest as he watched Patrick’s mom return to her seat on the couch. “That is so nice. You mom is so nice. You’re so nice. I don’t know what to do with this much nice.”

“You’ll figure it out. You’re adaptable.” Patrick rubbed his back and gave David a heated look. “But don’t worry. I’m not nice _all_ the time.”

“It looks like someone gave me tickets to the next Night Market. Want to join me?”

“I’d love to, David. It’s a date.”

“Yes it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> itsrebecca, I had to work in the dick in a box joke ;) 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'm over on Tumblr at [lisamc-21](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/lisamc-21).


	9. January 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue! Thanks for hanging in through this story! 
> 
> Note: this epilogue flagrantly ignores HR laws. Yay fiction!
> 
> Thank you again for the cheerleading and support through this fic that was supposed to be a short secret Santa thing and turned into nearly 40k fast drafted in <2 weeks. Oy. I appreciate you!

“Are you going to kiss him when you see him? Grab his ass? Sit on his lap during the staff meeting?” Stevie waggled her eyebrows, which was impressive considering how quickly she and David were hustling through the office get to the Monday morning staff meeting on time.

“I am going to be professional and keep my hands to myself. I’m not an animal.”

“Say that to the chocolate cake you took down a couple months ago when you thought Patrick was job hunting.”

“You said you’d never bring that up again,” he said in a high voice.

“I lied.” She strode through the door into the meeting.

David squared his shoulders and followed, attempting to casually scan the room like he had each Monday for months, hoping there was a seat next to Patrick. There was. Thank god he didn’t have to spend the meeting trying not to shoot flirty glances at him from across the table.

“Good morning, David.” Patrick smiled like he had a secret, like _they_ had a secret, which he supposed they did. For the next hour anyway.

“Morning,” he mumbled, more cheerfully than he managed most Mondays. David sat in the empty seat and looked at the to go coffee cup next to Patrick’s usual travel mug. Patrick nodded at it. He could get used to that kind of Monday morning treatment. The aroma of cocoa powder balanced perfectly with the bitter sweetness of the coffee in his first sip.

David opened his new journal to the first page since he’d filled the remaining pages of his last one journaling about Patrick and all that had happened in the past week. He looked up and tried to tune into the happy chatter throughout the room as everyone talked about their week off.

“Welcome back, everyone. I hope you all had a great week off and wonderful holidays, if you celebrated any of them.” Ray wore his “happy New Year” tie like he did every year on the first day back at work. “For today’s icebreaker, please share the highlight of your vacation.”

David couldn’t help but glance at Patrick, and he caught Patrick looking at him. Captain Obvious and Colonel Conspicuous. David barely listened to the answers because he needed all his brain power to come up with something other than _Patrick and I are together now and that’s not just the highlight of last week, but my year, maybe my life._

Patrick knocked his foot against David’s. “The highlight of my week was Christmas Day. All of my favorite people in the world together in one place. It was, uh, pretty great.” Patrick nodded idly and directed a bashful smile at David.

How the hell was David supposed to follow that? And how the hell was he supposed to restrain himself from kissing that adorable smile off Patrick’s face?

“What about you, David?” Ray’s usually harmless smile had a knowing edge to it.

He was probably the most vain and materialistic person in the office, so he’d lean into that. But Patrick would catch the subtext. “The gifts. This year’s gift-giving was exceptionally on-point this year. Giving and receiving.” Patrick knocked his knee against David’s, and Stevie smiled at him. A genuine one. God. How dare she pull that kind of shit in a room full of people. He blinked rapidly as Brooke spoke to try and clear the threat of tears.

Somehow David survived the staff meeting, which was a spectacular achievement given the minimal foot taps and knee brushes between him and Patrick. A miracle given how little time they’d spent apart in the last week. Last night was the first night he’d slept alone since Christmas. Now that their vacation immersion was over, he knew things would settle. But having a week of vacation to dive head first into this thing with Patrick had been like a bootcamp for dating a nice guy. A bootcamp he graduated from at the top of the class.

They’d spent the week talking, cuddling, cooking, having sex, _amazing_ sex, more talking. Patrick worshipped his body like no one before. He treated David’s body like a land he wanted to map down to every centimeter. To learn every peak, valley, the weather changes, and natural phenomenon. Patrick had claimed David’s body for Brewertopia.

David stayed in his chair as they waited for most of the group filed back to their offices. He bounced his knee under the conference table.

“Nervous?” Patrick brushed his knuckles against David’s under the table.

He made a strangled sound. Patrick damn well knew he was nervous. They’d talked about it for over an hour—while naked in bed, which helped, to be honest—yesterday afternoon. “Why would I be nervous? We’re only about to tell our boss and the HR person that we’re a couple, which will start a never-ending cycle of teasing and knowing looks and people suddenly clocking how much time we spend in each other’s offices,” he whispered.

“It’ll be fine. The novelty will wear off soon enough.” Patrick must have seen something in David’s face because he hurriedly added, “for our coworkers. Not us. Definitely not us.”

“Nice save. Nearly got yourself in trouble there.”

“Gonna make me sleep on the couch?”

“And punish myself? Yeah, right. Gonna make you bring me coffee for a week.”

“David, Patrick. You wanted to meet with Jocelyn and I?” Ray had that same knowing smile as he closed the door to the conference room once the last person left.

Patrick cleared his throat as he gently squeezed David’s thigh. “Yes. Per the employee dating policy, David and I would like to formally report to you both that we are in a romantic relationship.”

How did Patrick manage to string together such a boring series of words and make it sound so fucking sexy? David’s swooning over Patrick’s professionalism was abruptly cut off when Jocelyn and Ray gave each other A Look.

“What’s that?” David gestured his finger between the two of them. “That look.”

“David,”Patrick said in a warning tone.

“No. They had a look. What? What is it?”

Jocelyn giggled. “We’re not surprised. That’s all.”

“You’re not surprised.” David folded his arms over his chest. “That’s all.”

Ray looked between Jocelyn, sitting next to him, and David and Patrick, across from them. He vibrated in his chair and looked like he was going to burst from the effort to contain a secret.

David narrowed his eyes as he stared at Ray. Then it hit him like a ton of fucking bricks. “You set us up for secret Santa!”

Ray’s whole body shook. “We did! We did. We thought you two needed a little nudge.”

David looked at Ray, then Patrick, expecting his (?) boyfriend (?) to be outraged. Angry. Morally wounded by such unprofessionalism. At least moderately shocked. Patrick had the fucking nerve to LAUGH. _Laugh_. David gave him his steeliest _you’re in so much trouble right now_ look.

“A bit of harmless holiday fun, David.” Jocelyn winked at him.

The director of RAY’s human resources playing fast and loose with their human resources seemed illegal at most and ethically gray at best. “Is that allowed? Can you do that in a workplace?”

Jocelyn’s smile faltered. “We just wanted to see you two happy. It was clear how much you liked each other, and we thought maybe you weren’t acting on it because you were nervous about dating a coworker. We didn’t want you to worry about it. That’s all.”

“I’m thinking about starting a side matchmaking business,” Ray said, like some mustachioed puppeteer, making his staff dance.

“A matchmaking business! And you thought you’d do a test run with two of your emplo—“

“Is there anything we need to do?” Patrick asked. “Any protocols or procedures we have to follow now that we’ve declared our relationship?” Patrick rubbed a soothing thumb on the outside of David’s thigh. He was grateful for Patrick redirecting things back to the purpose of the meeting before his temper got the best of him. He knew Patrick would never speak for him or try to cut him off in an effort to contain him, but Patrick knew him well enough to know when David would regret saying something. And yelling at two people for wanting to see them happy would just make David feel like shit later after he got over the initial feeling of violation to his free will. Because it wasn’t really a violation. All they did was put Patrick’s name on a piece of paper. They had nothing to do with anything else that had happened.

Jocelyn looked at Ray. “We’ve never actually had to use this policy to my knowledge, so there aren’t any procedures developed. Ray?”

Ray shook his head. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. You two are professionals. Just no funny business during work hours.” He winked.

Jocelyn sent David an apologetic smile as he bit his tongue. Hard.

“Of course, Ray. That’s a given.” Patrick sounded offended at the suggestion of such behavior, which helped calm David down. They’d limit their funny business to late nights when Patrick helped David with displays.

David straightened in his chair and clasped his hands together on the table. “While I feel uncomfortable at the way the spirit of secret Santa was manipulated in this situation, I can’t be upset with the outcome.” Ray and Jocelyn looked relieved. “However, there’s something that would make me feel better about all of this.” He gestured to the room, then looked at Ray. “We need better quality coffee in the kitchen. The stuff in there now is practically tar.”

“David, I think that’s a perfectly reasonable request.” Jocelyn’s smile grew impossibly wide. “Ray, don’t you think?” After Ray easily agreed, she mouthed her thanks to David.

How could he be mad at them? Without the secret Santa nudge, who knows how long it would have taken them to finally get their shit together? But if he could work some better coffee for all of them in the process, well.

“It sounds like we’re all sorted then?” Patrick slapped his thighs and scooted his chair back. After Ray and Jocelyn’s confirmation and exhaustingly enthusiastic congratulations to them both, David stood from his chair.

Patrick walked David back to his office, and they stopped just inside for a bit of privacy given how sound traveled in the hallways. “We made it through. Do you feel relieved?”

David rolled his eyes. “Relieved that Ray and Jocelyn are systematically working through everyone’s office at this very moment to tell them we’re together? Yeah. That’s relief making my stomach upset.”

“Would it make you feel better if I made you dinner tonight and distracted you so you didn’t think about this at all?” Patrick walked his fingers up David’s side. He looked down and watched them slide against his cashmere. He’d imagined Patrick’s casual touches in the office a thousand times, and it was even better than he’d dared to hope.

“It’s a start.” David pinched his smile to the side. “Dessert would help.”

“You pick the dessert.”

“Look at that. I’m feeling better already.”

“I hear you’re slumming it these days, Rose.” Ronnie scowled as she stopped outside the door and looked Patrick up and down.

David tilted his head back and looked to the ceiling, willing the godforsaken fluorescents to give him strength. “Ray or Jocelyn?”

“Both. Don’t fuck this up, Brewer.”

Patrick’s warm, honey eyes pulled David in, and his soft smile calmed David’s frayed nerves. “Not planning on it, Ronnie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am thinking about writing an E piece as a companion to this story. If I do, I'll make it a standalone fic and turn this into a series so I can keep this main fic rated T for folks who don't like to read explicit fic. But for those who do, keep an eye out ;)
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'm over on Tumblr at [lisamc-21](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/lisamc-21).


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